The Adventure Through RuneScape 2
by Mainiac97
Summary: Three years after the first story, Mainiac97 is living a good life in Port Sarim. However, following an attack on the Wizard's Guild, it becomes obvious that the shadows of the past are returning to haunt him. Darkness is approaching… Chapter 24 is up!
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Welcome to 'The Adventure Through RuneScape 2: Darkness Approaches'! (_I couldn't include the last bit in the appearing title because of character limitations_). This is the sequel to my story 'The Adventure Through RuneScape'. This story takes place three years after the events of the first story. I hope you enjoy it!_

_Please note that this story is written in first person from the viewpoint of the character Mainiac97, but there are occasions where I will slip into third person, this prologue being an example of that. _Also, please note that the line "there is something on your back!" is repeated in the story. This is a reference to a show that I used to watch called Doctor Who.__

_The Adventure Through RuneScape and its sequel are part of a shared universe with Haseo the Terror of Death's The Sphere of Varrock. His story is placed one year behind The Adventure Through RuneScape, and six to seven years behind this story, The Adventure Through RuneScape 2. Although an understanding of that book isn't needed, I highly suggest you read it, not only because it is a good fanfiction, but because you will get some references in this story to that story._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>THE ADVENTURE THROUGH RUNESCAPE 2: DARKNESS APPROACHES<strong>_

_**Chapter 1: Prologue**_

The small camp deep within the wicked wilderness was teeming with activity. Dark wizards and chaos monks buzzed around small tents, chatting, practising battle, and doing business. The small camp constructed from tents, huts and even small makeshift houses surrounded a town square of sorts, even though Camp James definitely couldn't be described as a 'town'.

In the very centre of the camp, James the dark magician, master thief and evil forces leader constantly stood, flanked by the two MCMs (Mysterious Cloaked Mans/Men), his loyal guards and servants. He stood over a cauldron where an unspeakable potion bubbled. James held a tome that Master Samuel (a wicked, powerful man who once ruled over the army that James currently ruled over) had passed on to him.

"Oh, Master Samuel," James whispered, as if Master Samuel could actually hear him. "I have failed you. Three years have passed since you died and gave me this book, and your legacy is crumbling. I keep stalling the potion you gave me to complete while I fear its results. Mainiac97, the man who slew you, still exists. The dark wizards, the survivors of the war in Falador, are beginning to doubt me as a leader because of my uncertainty. I am slowly growing insane, drowning in my own panic and guilt. What am I to do?"

Suddenly, the dark wilderness sky rumbled, as if in reply. James was used to the rumbles in the sky – he'd put up with it for many years – but this rumple felt unnaturally loud. Most of the inhabitants of Camp James stared upwards.

A loud footstep marked an unwelcome intruder in Camp James. Heads turned as an unfamiliar man walked through the makeshift town. This man currently had a hood up, so nobody could truly see who he was. He wore thick black leather armour which was padded with black metal in certain areas, such as his knees, elbows, and chest area. He wore massive black travelling boots, and he wore a cracked black leather belt with some strange-shaped holsters attached to it, including a sword holster that currently held a long black sword. This man was so intimidating nobody dared move a muscle in his presence.

This man walked up to James, and he pulled his hood down. The man had done something to his face so nobody could truly see it; whenever they tried their eyes would go blurry and out of focus until they looked away. The only detail anybody could pick up about his face was that he had black, spiky hair.

"Who are you?" James yelled. "What are you doing here? I demand to know!" The man grabbed James by the neck and lifted him upwards, growling. All of the dark wizards and chaos monks began running forward. The man put his free hand in the air, telling the wizards and monks to stop. The presence of the mysterious intruder seemed to exude power, authority and superiority, so the wizards and monks stepped down reluctantly; eyeing the man's every move.

"James," the man hissed. "You disgust me. You've procrastinated probably the most important job of them all because you were afraid. You've wasted three years researching ways of delaying the potion, and your flimsy work may have botched up everything Master Samuel worked to achieve. Master Samuel, in his human foolishness; assigned you to be leader, when you were only fit to be a henchman. You've wasted three years doing trivial things, so I've been sent by Zamorak himself to replace you."

"That is complete nonsense!" James scoffed. "If you're so high and mighty, prove to me how superior and all-knowing you are!" The man sniggered. He tightened his grip on James' neck, and a terrible cracking noise followed. James fell to the floor at the man's feet, completely and utterly dead.

"I apologise for killing you, James, but it appears as if your existence will only serve to hinder my progress," the man said to the corpse at his feet in a mocking tone. He picked up the tome James once held, and he turned to the shocked crowd of dark wizards and chaos monks. "I am your new leader now!" he roared. "I have been sent by Zamorak to lead you to victory. James, your previous leader, was not up to scratch. He failed to follow in Master Samuel's footsteps, so I'm here to correct his mistakes."

"Why should we follow you?" one dark wizard yelled. "You've walked into our camp, killed our leader, and you haven't even introduced yourself to us! I refuse to follow you!" The man lifted his hand and revealed something shocking; he was holding the God Rune, a powerful and ancient rune which would provide the holder an infinite amount of magical power, despite magic levels. The dark wizard that questioned the man was reduced to ashes within seconds. Everybody in the camp gasped as they wondered the same question. How did this man acquire the God Rune, if it was supposed to be hidden in Yanille, protected by the wizards in the guild there? They all realised at that moment that this intruder was serious. None of them, not one, needed further evidence.

"This is why you should listen to me!" the man hissed. "I will not tolerate rebellion or ignorance. Anybody who dares go against me will be destroyed. It is as simple as that." He spun around, and shot what looked like a thunderbolt into the air. Suddenly, the black clouds started moving and forming sinister shapes. "I will complete that potion!" he bellowed. "I will finish what Master Samuel started! I will prove the might of Zamorak, and nothing will stand in my way!"

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><p><em>That concludes chapter 1 of 'The Adventure Through RuneScape 2: Darkness Approaches'! My question to you is, what are your thoughts on this mysterious new character who has the God Run<em>e? _I always appreciate your thoughts, opinions and comments!_

__I try my best to ensure that there are no grammatical mistakes in my chapters, but there will always be some that I overlooked/weren't aware of/made without realising that they were mistakes. So, if you see a mistake somewhere in the story, please point it out to me and I will rectify it.__

__Next chapter, old wounds are re-opened...  
><em>_

_Until next time, toodles!  
><em>


	2. Chapter 2: Shadows of the Past

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_I hope you enjoy this second chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: Shadows of the Past<strong>_

_Dear Mainiac97,_

_It has been years since I last saw you. Back then, I always plotted against you, because hatred existed between us. This hatred still exists between us, but I do not plot against you secretly as I used to because I know that, with your luck and your friends, it will be futile. I would like to settle an old dispute in a challenge of pure skill. Meet me in the clearing by the Port Sarim jail on Thursday at midday._

_From Madrey1_

I clutched the note tightly to my chest as I walked through Port Sarim, re-reading it constantly. Madrey1 was an old enemy of mine, and it had been approximately three years since I'd last seen him, on that fateful New Year's Day when he tried to gatecrash King Roald's party with the help of the rest of the Noob Exterminators and the Demon Clan. I'd heard nothing of him since then and I'd almost forgotten about him and the hatred we shared until now.

I thought back to the attempt on my life on that New Year's Day, and I thought about the Demon Clan. Ever since that day, the Demon Clan had become a nuisance to Varrock because of the regular attacks and robberies they committed. King Roald had sworn that he'd put a stop to their crime, and now the Glory Troopers (the army that had been set up by Ray and Hope to combat the evil that plagued RuneScape, mainly the strange events of the period) had formed a plan to find and capture, at worst destroy the Demon Clan. Their strange weapons, powerful 'motorbike' machines and great strength made them formidable opponents. The plan had been aptly named 'Operation Bug-Crush', because the members of the Demon Clan had been named after insects.

I grimaced as I saw the jail in the distance. I had no idea what his 'challenge of pure skill' was, but a challenge of any sort by Madrey1 couldn't mean anything good. At first I wasn't going to show up, but I decided it was pointless putting off the inevitable; he'd find me and challenge me, regardless if it was organised or not. In the past three years, I'd strengthened myself greatly, and I felt like I could hold my own in a fight against him. I was one level away from being able to wield dragon weapons, and three levels away from being able to wear dragon armour. Perhaps I was being ignorant, but at that moment I didn't care.

I hadn't informed Osrie1 or Amy11 (my close friends who accompanied my on my adventures) of Madrey1's challenge, and right now they were probably doing some construction work, either in Osrie1's house or Amy11's fairly new house.

To try and distract myself from the dread of having to face my old enemy again, I surveyed the buildings around me with some nostalgia. I clearly remembered the time when we first arrived at Port Sarim. At the time, I'd recently defeated Master Samuel, the evil and powerful leader of a terrifying army who constantly plotted to rule RuneScape, worked on a terrifying potion with effects unknown to most except him and probably his closest assistants, and hated me. I'd been hailed a hero, and many people respected me. I was still hailed as a hero, but people seemed to have forgotten about me slightly. I remembered my nervousness at calling an unfamiliar port my home, but slowly I got to know it and the people that lived in it and it truly felt like home.

I approached the jail and I hesitated slightly as I re-considered my actions. Was meeting Madrey1 in this manner really a good idea? I waved away my doubts, and walked past the building and into the clearing before I changed my mind.

The clearing was decently large and very bright, and the light breeze that blew through the surrounding trees seemed to bring a sense of tranquillity with it. I shuddered as I thought about the blood that would be shed in it today. I soon realised that I wasn't alone; a figure stood on the far side of the clearing. The figure approached me, and I recognised it as Madrey1.

Madrey1 hadn't changed much. He was still tall and muscled. He wore Guthan's armour, and a dragon helmet. He clutched his dragon sword in his hands. He wore a mocking sneer and every movement he made still made you feel small and insignificant. However, his beetle-black eyes held a tired look, as if he'd been through a tough ordeal.

"Mainiac97," he smirked. "It's been a long time. You seem well."

"Why did you ask me to come here?" I demanded, ignoring his pleasantries. "What is this challenge you wish to pose to me? Also, where are your slimy friends?"

"Phantom and Rogue," Madrey1 sighed. "They abandoned me. It turns out that they weren't as loyal as I originally thought. Speaking of friends, where are yours? You're usually flanked by them, like you're a noob king of some sorts and they're your servants. Never mind. Let me explain why I asked you here today.

"Following the events of New Year's Day, when we tried to gatecrash King Roald's party, we had to flee Varrock. King Roald was infuriated, and he'd sent many guards to hunt us down. We decided it was best to find a new city to hide and plot in. We travelled to Ardougne, avoiding all busy paths so we wouldn't be recognised, but when we arrived in Ardougne we found that we were wanted there too. After numerous incidents involving guards, we realised that Ardougne wasn't safe for us, so we travelled elsewhere in our search for sanctuary.

"We travelled to other cities, and we were wanted in all of them. Clearly, our actions in Falador and Varrock had bigger repercussions than we expected. All we could do was hide somewhere where nobody would find us. So we went into the Wilderness and set up camp there. We were forced to live in harsh, trying conditions, and we were constantly attacked by the revenants that inhabit the Wilderness. Eventually Rogue cracked and left the Noob Exterminators. Phantom followed soon after. I don't know what became of them.

"I soon found myself in a constant struggle for survival, against the law, against the Demon Clan (who blamed me for their humiliating failure on New Year's Day and wanted revenge), against the elements, and against myself. I experienced something unfamiliar; guilt. It gnawed at my stomach, and although I tried to get rid of it, it followed me like a swarm of annoying insects." Madrey1 looked downwards, tears glistening in his eyes. I was shocked. I'd never seen a sensitive side to Madrey1, who usually appeared as a menacing and hardy person. "Life has lost its meaning to me," he said quietly. "I have nothing to live for. There's nothing left in me except hatred, the knowledge that I may one day slay you and get my revenge." He looked up at me, his eyes boring into mine. "That is why I asked you here.

"I want to fight you, but this fight will be unlike any other fight I've had with you. This fight will be a fight to the death. I will kill you, or be killed in the process. I feel that my predicament is partially due to you constantly defeating me, so I will exact my revenge, or die trying. I am on a self-destructive downwards spiral anyway. What have I got to lose? I'm hated everywhere anyway. Even my own accomplices, my friends, turned their back on me."

For a brief moment I felt pity for him, but as I remembered what he'd done to me previously, the pity dissolved into hatred. Oh, how I wished to kill him. How I wished to exact _my_ revenge on him for his evil actions. But it occurred to me that he was considerably stronger than I.

As I thought, he approached me. "Mainiac97," he growled. "I leave you no choice. The time has passed for you to comically overpower me with the help of luck and your friends. I will not let you flee. I will destroy you, even if the price for doing so is my own life." At that, he pounced towards me, snarling.

He swiped his sword towards me, barely missing my chest. He repeated the motion again, and this time the sword hit me in the side. I keeled over, screeching with pain. Madrey1 giggled with mad glee, and jabbed his sword towards my chest. I unsheathed Silverlight, and I parried his blow. He tried again, and the clash of metal-against-metal filled the clearing. He pushed me backwards with his massive strength, and I pushed back at him with every ounce of my own. He stumbled backwards, slightly shocked. He grinned, and punched me in the face. I felt something break in my cheek as his fist collided with it. I smashed Silverlight into his chest, his armour partially softening the blow. He barely registered the pain. His sword glinted slightly as he roared with rage and repeatedly struck me. I hissed with pain every time his sword hit me.

He moved to strike me again, but I blocked his blow with Silverlight and I struggled to overpower him. He easily conquered me and smashed his sword into my head, almost cracking my helm. Stars filled my vision and I was knocked backwards. I grabbed his arm and used it to balance myself, pulling him off-balance. I took advantage of his momentary weakness, and I punched him in the jaw. I heard something crack, and I saw him spit a glob of blood onto the floor. He bellowed, and he unleashed every shred of his rage on me.

His sword went deep into my arm, slicing through the bone like butter. I yelled as my arm went limp. I looked into his eyes, and the mad gleam in them filled me with fear. At that moment, I understood his undying hatred towards me. The gleam reminded me of the gleam I saw in Master Samuel's eyes when I was duelling with him. I couldn't let him survive, because he could prove dangerous. That seemed to energise me, and I glared into his eyes. The power of my glare almost made him stumble backwards slightly, and a flash of confusion flitted briefly through his eyes. I was the first one to strike this time.

The power of my attack seemed to briefly overcome him, and I found the chance to sink Silverlight deep into his gut. Blood poured onto the grass, and Madrey1's mouth formed an O shape, before he let off a shriek. He fought back valiantly, managing to hit me several times, but I could see that his wound was seeping his strength, and I found myself overpowering him, bit by bit.

Despite the wound he bore, he still attacked with the vigour of a stronger person, and he soon knocked me to the floor. I lay there, feeling weaker than ever, and he raised his sword above his head. After a second, he flung it downwards. As I helplessly watched the blade fly towards my heart, I looked into Madrey1's eyes, feeling more hate than ever towards him. Memories of his evil flitted through my head, and flashed before me…

_Madrey1 used his sword to chop the farmer's head cleanly off. The head swerved over us in a brilliant ark, before landing in the sink. Blood and unpleasant pinkish goo went down the drain._

_I saw Madrey1 run down the path that I had just walked down. He barged past me, knocking me down. He looked at the pretty girl, and stopped in his tracks. "Well hello little missy," he sneered, and he grabbed her by the waist. She screamed, struggling to get out of his grip._

_Mark and Haru ran towards the Noob Exterminators. Haru was just about to attack, when he remembered that he didn't bring his axe. Shrugging, he punched Madrey1 in the face. Madrey1 grabbed Haru's legs, and spun him around. He let go, and Haru was sent flying through the air, smashing into a table._

_He pulled out his dragon sword, and hit me across the leg. A large scar remained there, leaking blood. I screamed in pain. He did the same to Amy11. I watched with misery as she screamed in pain. I couldn't stand this!_

_Madrey1 picked me up by the scruff of the neck, and threw me outside. I stood up, groaning, but he picked me up again and slammed me into the floor again. He repeated this process, and I crawled away, coughing up blood. I saw Dream fly overhead, crashing into the grass, spraying dirt everywhere._

_I looked up to see Madrey1. The Black Fly flew down and grabbed me by my shirt. He picked me up, and threw me downwards. Madrey1 caught me, and threw me back. The Black Fly caught me, and repeated. They were playing a game with me!_

These memories of the suffering Madrey1 had caused gave me the insatiable urge to defeat him so he could cause no more suffering. Using as much of my strength I could, I jumped upwards and knocked Madrey1's sword aside. I rushed towards him, and before he had enough time to even blink, I punched him as hard as I could in the face, Silverlight forgotten. His helmet flew off, like it had done many times before, and landed in the grass nearby. I punched him again and again, blocking every punch he tried to land on me and giving him no chance to even lift his sword.

I blackened both of his eyes, smashed his nose and I threw the hardest punch yet at his forehead. The hard blow knocked him to the floor, and his dragon sword swerved overhead. I caught it cleanly, and suddenly my green book (which displayed all of my levels) vibrated. Small fireworks sprung up around me, and the book flew into my hand, and informed me that I was now level 60 in attack. The book returned to by bag, and I clutched Madrey1's dragon sword, amazed.

"So now you're going to kill me," he giggled. "You're going to lower yourself to my level and kill me. Well, I am not afraid of death. Go on, kill me."

"I will not be lowering myself to your level," I growled. "That is simply because your level involves torture, taunting, bullying, pointless murder, and much more. My actions will stop the suffering of many others. I will slay you with the sword that has slain many others in cold blood!" I threw the sword downwards, and it flew straight through his heart. His mouth opened slightly, and he gurgled.

"Noob," he whispered, and then he died. I stared into his lifeless, beetle-black eyes, slightly dismayed by his final insult. I suddenly felt a void in my chest. Madrey1 had been my enemy pretty much since I first appeared in RuneScape, and I'd developed in RuneScape with him constantly at my heels. Losing him felt like I'd lost a big part of my life in RuneScape. Nevertheless, his death would always remain a good thing. I stared at his body; I felt a pang of hate for him. His mouth was stuck in a mocking smirk. He was insulting me, even in death.

I put his sword away in my weapons belt, deciding to keep it as a trophy of his defeat. Although it had done many terrible things and it carried a curse, it was a powerful weapon and would prove useful. I examined my weapons belt. It currently contained the magnificent Silverlight (my favourite weapon), a barbarian hammer that I'd won against Gunther the Brave, a white knight kiteshield, a jewellery pouch, a spare steel sword, and the dragon sword I'd just won.

I picked up Madrey1's dragon helmet, and a terrible shock filled my body, signifying that my defence level wasn't high enough for me to be able to wear the helmet. I almost dropped it. I quickly put it in my bag, intending to use it as a trophy to put in my trophy room. I left the clearing, glancing at Madrey1's body behind me. I wouldn't take any more of his armour. I'd let him reserve enough of his dignity to rot in his Guthan's armour (which he probably stole, or bought with stolen money).

I returned to my house, staring with fondness at the building that I'd built myself. In the last three years I'd done a considerable amount of work on my house. I'd added an extra floor, a feat which cost quite a lot of money and time. I'd extended my trophy room, and I'd added a dining room as an extension to my kitchen so I could host feasts and parties. Previously, I had three empty rooms, but I'd turned one of them into a chapel so I could worship and restore prayer points. I'd turned another into a stairs room, which was empty except for stairs leading upwards and some decorations. The other room was still empty, but I planned to use it as a dungeon entrance room of sorts when I eventually built a basement/dungeon. Upstairs I had another stairs room, a games room, and a combat room containing some equipment and a combat ring for sparring and fun fighting.

Altogether, at that moment my rooms and gardens contained a portal garden, a farming garden, a sitting room, a trophy room, a study, a workshop, a storage room for storing building equipment and possibly some other things, a kitchen, a dining room, my bedroom, a spare bedroom, a chapel, a dungeon entrance room, a decoration garden, a pet garden, two stairs rooms, and upstairs I had a games room and a combat room. All of these rooms had been built into a rectangle shape, and I kept my pet garden and my decoration garden in the middle.

I peered into my pet garden, to check that my pets were okay. I currently had three pets; a turkey called Gobbles (which I obtained one thanksgiving), a Heim Crab called Heimlich (which I obtained one Christmas) and a horse called Fierce (which I bought because of the usefulness of owning a horse). Fierce the horse wasn't actually fierce at all; on the contrary, Fierce was very timid, but looked fierce with a loud neigh and black fur, which is why I named the horse Fierce. At that very moment, Eek the spider dropped onto my shoulder and expressed glee at my arrival. I chuckled softly; Eek was another pet of mine, but Eek was so small it was hardly worth putting him in a pet garden.

I went to my workshop and, using a wet piece of cloth, I cleaned all the blood and dirt off my armour, using a spray of cleaning potion to polish the armour and give it the lustre that white knight armour was renowned for. I applied a small amount of white paint over the scratches, and left the armour on a table to dry. I then cleaned my wounds and bandaged the more serious ones, while I healed my health points and satisfied my hunger in the kitchen with a meat sandwich… my favourite.

I then went to my trophy room, and I removed Madrey1's helmet. I cringed as the uncomfortable, maybe even painful shock filled my body. Knowing that I couldn't resist the urge to drop the helmet for much longer, I put it on an empty stand quickly. As I admired the helmet, it occurred to me that, despite how evil Madrey1 was, he was still brave. Although he risked everything, he went into the Wilderness for the benefit of not just himself, but his teammates, despite them abandoning him afterwards. He still had the guts to come out into the open to face me and risk getting put into a prison, and he died a noble death fighting his enemy, despite his rather lame last word. I would never forget Madrey1, and in the future I would speak of him, or write about him, and I would mention his great strength and the fear he inspired in people, including me.

I was torn from my musings by the clatter of my letterbox. I went to the letterbox and I retrieved the weekly small box of free building supplies that RuneScape homes gave me. I also found a newspaper that was delivered to me daily. I was subscribed to 'The Lumbridge Paper', not just because I was rather friendly with Story Rover (a journalist that worked for the paper), but because they offered good news coverage which covered big stories from all across RuneScape, although the paper focused on Lumbridge. I went to my study to read the paper, and my mouth fell open at the headline.

**Lumbridge Paper 2gp**

_ATTACK ON WIZARD'S GUILD!_

_Yesterday night, the Wizard's Guild of Yanille was attacked by a strange figure. The figure was described by eye-witnesses as 'definitely male, having undistinguishable facial features except for spiky hair, but wearing a strange belt and big boots'._

_The figure forced entry into the guild and was attacked by any wizards who were there at the time. Eye-witnesses say that the figure 'overpowered the men with what seemed like ease, although he struggled with some of the older wizards'. The figure was reported as 'salvaging the runes of the wizards he slew'. _

_The figure then proceeded to a vault, blew it open, and stole one artefact before being attacked by guards and 'other security measures'. However, the artefact gave the mysterious attacker gigantic power, allowing him to tear through all who attacked him, steal anything that caught his interests, and blow half the building apart to escape, killing the head wizard in the process. The figure then flew among the clouds and successfully escaped._

_The artefact that he stole that gave him such power has now been named as the 'God Rune', a rune that grants the holder unimaginable power. This siege has raised questions on the reliability of the Wizard's Guild at protecting its sacred contents. _

The article continued with eyewitness accounts, professional opinions and speculations, but I didn't read much further than that. I dropped the paper in shock, shuddering suddenly. The paper seemed to underestimate the dangers of the God Rune, and the dangers of whoever owned it. Master Samuel once used it to achieve terrible power. Once I defeated him, I gave it to Sedridor of the Wizard's Tower, who sent it to the Wizard's Guild. I hoped that I'd never hear about it again, but now it had been stolen, which presented awful dangers. First Madrey1, now this…

The shadows of the past were returning to haunt me.

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><p><em>I hope that this chapter was to your liking! My question to you today is, how do you feel about the death of Madrey1? Also, what are your suspicions involving the guild robbery?<em>

_Next chapter, an old face is seen again...  
><em>

_Until next time, toodles!  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3: King David's Speech

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Chapter 3 has arrived! You may ask why I have posted this chapter by itself, but I feel that it serves as a very important introduction_ _to a certain key character. I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: King David's Speech<strong>_

I hissed and fell over as an excruciating pain filled my left foot. I rubbed my foot to try and stop the pain. Eventually the pain subsided and I stood up, eyeing the hammer which fell on my foot with faint distaste. I picked up the hammer and I continued working.

At that moment I was building a flat-pack wardrobe to sell on the Grand Exchange. Making furniture to sell was a favourite pastime of mine because not only did it give me something to do, but it gave me construction experience and it gave me some money.

I considered recent events. The robbery of the Wizard's Guild had given me many sleepless nights due to fear of what the mysterious attacker would do with the God Rune. My stomach lurched every time I thought about what Master Samuel did when he had it in his possession. He destroyed the White Knight Castle with a flick of his hand. I just hoped that the robber's intentions weren't as evil as Master Samuel's.

I also considered the death of Madrey1. I'd informed Amy11, Osrie1, and my friends in Falador and Varrock who knew of him about his defeat, and they were all pleased and proud that I'd managed to overcome an old foe. Even though he'd done terrible things and had caused a great deal of suffering, he'd been a part of my life in RuneScape ever since I first arrived in Lumbridge and his death made me feel curiously empty, as if a part of my roots had been ripped from me. But I soon realised that it was for the best.

I was distracted by a clatter from the mailbox. I abandoned my work to check out my mail. My newspaper had arrived. I opened it up, and I raised my eyebrow as I read the headline.

**Lumbridge Paper 2gp**

_KING DAVID'S BIG RETURN!_

_King David, after several years of staying mostly hidden, has returned to the public eye after he announced that he would be making a series of speeches._

"_I haven't been sitting on my backside doing nothing for these years," he told a crowd in Ardougne. "I've been busy working on some plans and ideas I have. I will explain them in greater detail during my speeches."_

_All of his speeches will be made mid-afternoon. Below is a list of where he will be making his speeches and on what days. _

I read through the list thoughtfully. My eyes widened as I saw that he would be making a speech in Varrock today. It was early afternoon now; I still had a chance of attending the speech. I decided that it would be best to leave now. I put away my construction work and tools, said farewell to Eek, and left the house.

I appeared in Port Sarim. I sighed softly as I smelled the sea breeze that I'd grown to love. I wondered where Osrie1 would be. I considered visiting his house, but I realised at this time he was probably eating lunch in The Rusty Anchor (a small bar that catered to seamen and locals and didn't offer rooms to rent). I walked towards it, and I entered. The bar was slightly cramped and reeked of smoke, sweat, and sea, but it felt homely now that I'd been living in Port Sarim and eating in the bar for about three years.

I found Osrie1 by the bar, eating meat pies (his favourite food) and drinking ale. It wasn't very hard to miss him; he had messy orange hair and a freckly face. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he greeted me cordially. I informed him of King David's speech, and he told me that he wanted to come. I asked where Amy11 was, and he told me that she was currently in the food shop. He downed his ale. He picked up his meat pie and he left the bar with me.

We walked through Port Sarim towards the food shop and we saw Amy11 further up, holding a bag full of what I assumed to be food. Amy11 was practically the first female I befriended, and had travelled with me ever since. She had long blond hair, and blue eyes that twinkled like mine. I had always liked her and I held feelings for her which seemed mutual, although neither of us had ever talked about it. She greeted us with her usual hugs. We explained the situation to her and she gladly agreed to accompany us to the speech. We cast the 'teleport to Varrock' spell, and we all disappeared.

_I hate the feeling of teleportation,_ I grumbled. Teleportation was very convenient, but you always felt compressed while teleporting, similar to being squeezed through a pipe. We reappeared in the centre of the bustling town of Varrock after a few seconds. Varrock was a glorious city, filled with a large array of shops. The centre was especially beautiful, with its tall fountain spouting crystal-clear water. The palace, home to King Roald, was even more magnificent. The centre was even more busy than usual, due to the imminent speech of King David. A crowd was forming next to a small makeshift stage. We joined the crowd.

We must have waited half an hour, and by then the centre was absolutely packed. Eventually, King David walked onto the stage, accompanied by strange-looking bodyguards, clad in big, heavy silver. Suddenly, the crowd burst out cheering.

King David was a man who held himself in a certain way that exuded authority. In other words, he looked like a king. He had one brown eye and one green eye. He grinned, revealing perfect teeth. He waved a hand, and the crowd fell silent instantly.

"Welcome, Varrock," he said, looking at everybody with amused eyes. "I am King David, and I am back! I haven't been in the public eye for several years because I've been quite inactive. I've given small speeches, but if I did so they were for good reasons, for example, my speech at Falador to warn about the terrible murders of the period. Apart from those, however, I haven't given any bigger speeches. However, I haven't spent the last few years doing nothing.

"Certain votes were made several years ago that put me in a position of greater power than before, and this power allowed me to work on some ideas, try to turn them into realities, confer with other kings of different cities (including your very own King Roald), and generally bide my time. After years of doing this I feel it's time to announce some of my plans and speak to the people once more. I once spoke of great dreams to try and cure the world, and now I present to you several possibilities that would help accomplish these dreams.

"Firstly, poverty is growing out of hand, and this is one of the sources of the problems we face today. It is a great shame to walk through Varrock and see great parts of it fall into disrepair because of lack of money, and lack of work. I feel that if we controlled the economy better by controlling money and reducing the amount of power merchants hold over it, we could eventually reduce the overall prices of goods. We should also invest greater resources into charity; by starting organisations and arranging activities to create money for the homeless, we could fight poverty and bring back to life the broken areas of Varrock, and even other cities with poverty problems.

"Another problem we should combat is the gigantic problem of crime. Thieves are absolutely everywhere. We can inspire fear into these people by investing into greater weaponry for guards and knights, and strengthen the guards and knights themselves. Attacking and pickpocketing guards has become quite a pastime for some people and we should stop that by investing in greater training for the guards, so they are stronger than ever and can easily defeat anybody who dares attack them or try to steal their money. Thieving has grown into a skill and even has its own cape. We should destroy the capes and stop thieving as a skill so people don't aim to do crime and make it something to boast about.

"I have another plan that could be put into motion. If we are to stop thievery, we should invest into an army… but not any conventional army. We should create… _create_ an army through the means of magic and potion-making. An army of super-soldiers would be the perfect thing to stop crime. How, you may ask? What magic is advanced enough to actually create an army? Well, let me remind you of the Black Guard of old. If we could re-create such an army, we could overcome large-scale crime problems with ease. It won't be easy, and currently it isn't a possibility, but if you support me and vote for me in future votes, I could gain enough power to create such an army! I can accomplish the impossible; I could change RuneScape and make it a better place if you vote for me!"

Several people clapped and cheered, but King David opened his mouth to signify that he wasn't finished. While he babbled on about some of his other plans and ideas, I thought about what he had said involving the Black Guard. This had hit a nerve with me, because of how Master Samuel had acquired them and abused their strength. I shuddered as I remembered the destruction they caused and how difficult they were to defeat. I looked at King David and at that moment if he really was serious about his super soldier idea.

I'd always had my suspicions about him because it was him that was responsible for the capture and death of Gypsy Aris because he accused her of 'treason' and made her wanted. I suspected Master Samuel had a part in it by convincing King David to make her wanted (possibly by slipping coins into his pocket) so he could acquire her crystal ball and use the mist inside (partly because the mist was a part of his terrible potion). But now I felt even more uncertain. A loud cheer tore me from my thoughts and back to what King David was saying.

"So now I've presented some of my ideas to you!" he yelled. "If you support me and vote for me, I could accomplish what I've spoken of, and more besides!" Everybody applauded, and King David marched off the stage, accompanied by his bodyguards.

The crowd dispersed, and I discussed my concerns with Amy11 and Osrie1. They both nodded seriously.

"I'm no expert in economics," Amy11 said. "But I do know that controlling money so tightly could be very tricky and may not improve the situation."

"I agree with you about the super-soldiers idea," Osrie1 chipped in. "It sounds horribly similar to the Black Guard, and if the super-soldiers were actually created it could yield some nasty results. Playing with life that way isn't right and could actually create a new menace. Although the Black Guard's numbers are decreasing due to how much Master Samuel used them, they're still problematic, and creating new super-soldiers could complicate the situation more." We all nodded.

"We should consult some wiser people," I suggested. "Let's go visit Aubury's rune shop and speak with him and perhaps the commanders if they're there and able to talk." We all agreed on that, and we set off.

We walked into the rune shop cautiously, and I saw a Glory Trooper by the desk. The Glory Trooper must have recognised us, because he ran through the door behind him, and he returned accompanied by Aubury. Aubury greeted us happily, and invited us into the back.

He took us into the familiar cramped kitchen. I stared fondly around me. The place meant quite a lot to me because I lived there for several months, during the Silverlight wars.

Sitting there was Haldir6, Slinky, and Creator. We all greeted each other, and Slinky greeted us in an even friendlier manner, because she travelled with us to Falador. Following the battle in Falador she decided to return to the Glory Troopers because she heard of the situation. She wasn't a commander any more, but she was still ranked very high and was treated like a commander. The current commanders were Creator, Haldir6 and Haru Axe-man (who was doing business in Lumbridge at that moment).

We began discussing the speech and I voiced my worries. There was quite a mixed bag of opinions; Slinky and Haldir6 agreed with me, Creator believed that the idea was good in the essence but a safer alternative was probably better, while Aubury felt that the super-soldier idea was good, as long as they were made differently to the Black Guard. A discussion began, and Aubury made some tea and buttered bread for us to enjoy. Despite the different opinions, I still felt very insecure about the idea. I was very unsure about King David. He had charisma and his ability to inspire crowds was remarkable, but could he be trusted? Was he corrupt? What were his true intentions? While the discussion continued onto other subjects (including Operation Bug-Crush and my defeat over Madrey1), all these questions and more continued to plague me.

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. My question to you is, what are your opinions on King David's ideas? Do you believe that, if his plans are put into motion, they will be beneficial or problematic?<br>_

_Next time... Mainiac97 begins_ _a classic RuneScape quest_.

_Until next time, toodles!_


	4. Chapter 4: Shield of Arrav

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_In this chapter, I finally write about the Shield of Arrav quest. I intended to do this at some point in 'The Adventure Through_ _RuneScape', but I never got around to doing it. I feel that now is a perfect time. Originally this chapter was going to be in two parts but I made the decicion to bond the two parts and make an especially long chapter. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4: Shield of Arrav<br>**_

"Thank you for coming," the man smiled. "I have been waiting for you. I assume you got the message. I am here on orders of King Roald. He says he has a job for you that could prove rewarding."

I looked at the man curiously. He was very podgy, with twinkling eyes. He wore gold robes that barely fitted him, and he currently held a scroll that he was reading.

Earlier this morning, several men blowing trumpets marched into my house, accompanied by a messenger who told me a man would be waiting for me in the Varrock museum to speak to me about a job. I cautiously came to the museum to find this man.

"What might this job entail?" I asked.

"The Shield of Arrav," the man replied. "Have you ever heard of it?" I shook my head, nonplussed. "Come with me." I followed the man, who took me to a display. Half of a shield hung inside of the display. The shield half looked slightly battered, but it was intricate and looked like it would have been a mighty shield if it was whole. It had been painted white and blue, and there was a star painted in the middle.

"This shield is called the Shield of Arrav," the man explained. "It is an ancient shield with very magical properties. It once belonged to the great warrior Arrav, who was in a dangerous situation and threw the shield away so somebody else could use it. At some point during its history it was broken into two halves, and only one half has been acquired to put on display. The whereabouts of the other half have been unknown… until now.

"King Roald heard word of the other half of the shield being with a heinous gang called the Black Arm Gang. This gang is a nasty organisation in Varrock who specialise in thievery and trickery. But the gang are also very clever, and they hide their base of operations well."

"Why have you asked for my help, though?" I asked, confused. "Surely King Roald has access to men more suited for the job."

"King Roald has tried," the man grunted. "Three men before you have tried the job and failed. The first two men couldn't even find the Black Arm Gang's base. The third man didn't return from the job. King Roald has heard of your deeds, and thinks you might be suited for the job."

"Will I receive a reward if I find and return the shield half?" I enquired. I wasn't asking out of greed; I merely wanted to know if I would get anything for my efforts.

"Naturally," the man chuckled. "Not only will you make yourself friendly with King Roald (which is never a bad thing), he'll reward you, you'll earn a reward from the museum, and word of what you achieved would probably spread elsewhere and would generally open you up to other jobs. Besides, it's a quest. You'd earn quest points, assuming you actually succeed in retrieving the shield. Do you accept the job?"

I nodded, and I thanked the man. "Do you have any idea where I should start?" I queried.

"I have no idea. You are the one who is doing the job," the man shrugged. I thanked the man a final time, before leaving the museum, glancing briefly at the great marble building as I left it.

I thought about what my plan of action was, and I eventually decided that asking the homeless was the best option at the moment, because they probably saw a lot of things on the streets and they would possibly be able to give me a clue as to where the Black Arm Gang hid.

I decided to enter the poverty-stricken area of Varrock first. As I left the busy main streets, the smooth paved floor vanished and was replaced with dirt which crunched unpleasantly under my feet. Most buildings here were dilapidated, empty, or collapsed. Homeless beggars were scattered across the area. They looked at me curiously, and I had difficulty choosing which one to ask. I settled on asking a man with a notably large beard. I slipped a handful of coins into his hand. "What can you tell me about the whereabouts of the Black Arm Gang?" I whispered in his ear, cringing at the rotten smell that lingered around him. He surveyed the coins in his hand with glee.

"Personally, I know nothing," he muttered. "But Charlie, who lives near the fountain near the sword shop, may know a thing or two." I thanked the tramp, offered him a piece of bread, and left the poor area of Varrock as soon as I could.

I approached the fountain that the homeless man spoke of, and I saw a man wrapped in brown rags sitting about ten feet away from the fountain. I approached the man.

"Are you Charlie?" I asked him. He nodded, glaring at me suspiciously. "Can you tell me anything about the whereabouts of the Black Arm Gang?"

"Possibly," he replied sourly. "But they really aren't people to be trifled with. Besides, I really have a bad memory. I need something to jump-start my memory before I can tell you anything." I groaned, and I handed him a handful of coins. He gave the coins a glance before shaking his head, his eyes filled with greed. "It isn't coming to me," he said with mock-annoyance. I counted out 500gp, and gave that to him. "It's returning," he gasped. "Perhaps a little more, just to loosen my tongue…" I counted out another 200gp, and I gave that to him. "Now we're talking," he cackled. "Yes, I do know something about the whereabouts of the Black Arm Gang.

"Go down this alley," he said, gesturing to a nearby alleyway entrance. "It will lead you through a small system of alleyways. Go left when you first get the chance, and then follow that until you get to a right turning. Take that, and then climb up the first rusty ladder you see on your left. Go across the metal balcony and skip two ladders. Go down the third one, and then follow the alley until you reach a dead end. On your right, there will be a small wooden door. Go through that, and you've arrived at the headquarters of the Black Arm Gang. However, tread with caution, because they are strong people that take no nonsense." I thanked Charlie for his information, before following his directions.

As I walked through the alley, I met some suspicious-looking people. They cast me furtive glances, before slipping away into the shadows. Eventually, I arrived at the dead end described, and I saw the door. I walked through as quietly as I could.

I appeared in a small, rather bare room with no windows and two doors (one in front of me and the one I'd just come through). Three people wearing skin-tight black outfits appeared from seemingly nowhere, and pointed daggers at my throat.

"State your name and intention," one of them hissed.

"My name is Cedric, and I intend to join the Black Arm Gang," I replied, forming a plan of action quickly. I decided to use Cedric's name as a fake name because Cedric was dead, and nobody would be suspicious. They lowered their daggers, their eyes boring into mine.

"Come with us," one of them growled. "We'll take you to Katrine. Remember, make one wrong move and we'll slit your throat and take your expensive-looking swords from you." I put my hands up in the air, and they took me through the door.

The room they'd taken me into was nicely furnished, with a golden table, golden chairs, golden carpets, silver-painted walls, and a large oak grandfather clock standing in the corner. There were some sinister-looking people sitting down in this room. There were three doors in this room (one of them we'd just walked through). They took me through the door to our left. In here, there was a fairly long hall. We passed a flight of stairs and many benches (most of them were occupied). We arrived at a large mahogany door with a golden knocker on the front. One of the men rapped the knocker three times. A loud female voice from inside granted us entry.

We'd stepped into an office of sorts. Large bookshelves filled with books occupied one side of the office. A desk had been placed in the middle, and sitting behind it was the most fearsome woman I'd ever seen.

The woman had long, silver hair which draped past her shoulders. She wore metal plates which protected her shoulders, and a purple top. She wore tight black trousers, and in her left hand she clutched a crooked dagger. Her dark-brown eyes inspected me closely, almost as if she was trying to read my mind. Her mouth was motionless. I assumed she was Katrine, leader of the Black Arm Gang. The men surrounding me bowed, and left.

"Who are you?" she barked, making me jump out of my skin.

"Main… I mean, my name is Cedric," I stuttered. She sniffed.

"What are you doing here, Cedric?" she demanded.

"I wish to join the Black Arm Gang," I whimpered, trying to make myself sound confident, and failing miserably. She snorted.

"A scrub like you, join an organisation like ours?" she smirked. "I'm not so sure about that. Then again…" She eyed Madrey1's dragon sword on my belt with a tint of respect in her eyes. "You could prove useful. Perhaps you could be of assistance in a little project I have planned. As soon as Boneripper returns…" At that moment, the door swung open. "Speak of the devil!" she exclaimed, and I turned to face the man who'd just walked in.

He wore a pair of black rubber trousers and a tight red T-shirt. He wore long, black boots, and attached to his hip was a chain with a jagged rusty hook hanging from it. I eyed this weapon uncomfortably. He was thin, yet muscular, and something about him intimidated me. At the moment, he was chewing on a leg of chicken like a man who'd never seen food before. "Hello, Boneripper! It's nice to see you again!" Katrine exclaimed, changing her demeanour almost instantly. _Boneripper must be a very well-respected person,_ I thought. I couldn't help feeling like I'd heard the name before… "Are you ready for the job?"

"Yes," he growled. His voice was deep and menacing, and it gave me goose-bumps. "That happens to be exactly why I've come to visit you today. However, although I may be skilled, a small amount of assistance may be required if I am to carry out an operation of such difficulty."

"I've just managed to solve that little problem," Katrine grinned. "Boneripper, this is Cedric, a new recruit of ours who will be accompanying you on your mission to prove his ability. Cedric, this is Boneripper, one of the most able assassins of the Black Arm Gang. Although he calls himself a member of the Black Arm Gang, he can be hired by other people as well." Boneripper shook my hand coldly, looking at me with what seemed to be amusement. "Cedric, follow Boneripper. He will explain to you everything about what you're about to do. If you succeed to be of assistance to him during the mission, I will give you a reward of some shape or form and I may consider your request to join our ranks." I nodded, and I reluctantly followed Boneripper out of the door.

"Right, noob, what we're about to do is dangerous," Boneripper hissed. "There is another gang that exists in Varrock. The gang is called the Phoenix Gang, and they are our enemies. We've heard that they've just received a shipment of phoenix crossbows, very powerful weapons which could prove a threat to us. I've been commanded to infiltrate the lair of the Phoenix Gang to retrieve these crossbows. You will help me by attacking any guards, keeping watch while I steal the crossbows, and helping me make a smooth escape. I'd imagine you are able enough to fight, judging by the sword hanging from your belt." I nodded seriously, still trying to figure out where I'd seen Boneripper before. After giving it much thought, I remembered suddenly. I'd seen Boneripper's face on 'wanted' posters all over Varrock and Falador! Suddenly feeling very scared, I edged away from Boneripper.

He led me back onto the Varrock main streets and he took me into another dark alley nearby. We meandered through what felt like a maze of alleyways before we appeared somewhere in the poorer parts of Varrock. We approached a crumbling house, and Boneripper smashed the door off its hinges with one swift kick. We entered, and Boneripper pulled down a cupboard. Behind this cupboard was a door. He opened the door, and behind the door there was a flight of steps that led downwards. Boneripper walked down these steps slowly and I followed, feeling uncertain.

I'd only just been introduced to the Black Arm Gang, and here we were invading the base of yet another gang! How many gangs altogether had made Varrock their home?

"Listen, noob," Boneripper hissed. "The Phoenix Gang is not to be underestimated. Remember that our sole goal is to retrieve the crossbows. Do not cause any unnecessary trouble." I nodded seriously.

Eventually we encountered two people who wore red costumes with phoenix emblems on them. Attached to their belts were steel swords. They yelled as they saw Boneripper; he had obviously made a reputation for himself. With a snarl, he grabbed his rusty hook and swung it towards the Phoenix Gang guards. They screamed as their heads were crushed by the hook. Their limp forms fell to the floor.

Boneripper undressed them both and threw me one of their outfits. "We need disguises of some sort," he explained. "I may be strong, but attracting the attention of the whole gang would not be good, especially if their leader gets involved." I reluctantly put on the red clothes while Boneripper did the same. I glanced at the dead guards with pity before Boneripper began walking. I had to follow him.

We passed several guards as we walked down the stairs, all of which ignored us. Before long we reached the end of the stairs and were met with a long corridor which branched off at several points. The corridor was crawling with Phoenix Gang members. None of them gave us any attention, which was a good thing.

"If I'm correct…" Boneripper mumbled to himself. "The vault is down here somewhere…" He followed a path to the left, and I scuttled after him.

We went through a small maze of corridors filled with Phoenix Gang members. Eventually we arrived at a door with a large lock on it. Boneripper threw his hook into the lock, creating a loud clanging noise and denting the lock slightly. Phoenix Gang members glanced at us suspiciously as they passed us. "Help me," Boneripper growled. I unsheathed Silverlight and I proceeded to smash the lock with it. The suspicious glances that were being thrown in our directions soon turned into angry glares, and people began asking us what we were doing. Boneripper roared a response involving lock replacement, and he was so intimidating nobody dared argue with him. Eventually the lock fell to the floor with a clatter and the door flew open. We crept inside and the door shut behind us.

We'd walked into another small corridor. At the end of this corridor there was a massive metal circle covered with a large variety of locks; I recognised it as a fairly advanced vault. At least twenty Phoenix Gang's guards had surrounded us within seconds.

"State your name, gang rank and intention!" one of the guards barked.

"My name… is Boneripper," Boneripper smirked. "My rank… I'm better than you noobs. My intention… is ripping your bones out of their bodies!" He sent his hook crashing into the skull of a guard, who died instantly. The other guards screeched with alarm, and attacked us with no hesitation.

I parried the blow of a guard. I did not want to fight these people, but unless I wanted to spend the rest of my life rotting in a dungeon somewhere in these halls I had to. After another few minutes of close combat I overpowered and killed the guard. Another guard attacked me and I noticed that his style of fighting was heavier and harsher, so I decided to swap to Madrey1's sword. The brute force of the dragon metal would combat excellently against the guard's weighty blows. I killed him within two minutes.

Boneripper was a ferocious lion in battle. Every move he made with his vicious hook killed at least two people, and within moments all of the guards lay at his feet, either dying or dead. He spat the chicken bone he always chewed onto the dead bodies of his victims.

He ran towards the vault on the far side and I followed. He inspected the vault before tapping it in certain places with his hook. "This is a very tough vault," he stated. "But I have broken through tougher vaults. Keep watch while I open this thing." I turned my back on him and I began hearing scratching and cracking noises. Boneripper was clearly an expert in all things rotten and dishonest if he could break through such an advanced-looking vault.

I heard angry voices and at least seven guards marched through the door on the opposite side. "I hear people. Take care of them, noob. With that shiny dragon sword you should be able to take care of them," Boneripper spat. The guards approached me and I pulled out my barbarian hammer. I had no intention of killing these men. All I planned to do was knock them unconscious so they wouldn't disturb us. I tried that approach and I succeeded in knocking out five of the men. The other two men ran past me, but Boneripper defeated them with ease.

Eventually, something let off a loud cracking noise and a large metal disc fell off the vault. It swung open. Behind it there was a small metal room. There were five crates inside this room. Boneripper opened all of them. One of them was filled with different gems and one of them was filled with diamond-tipped arrows. Two of them were filled with crossbows that looked powerful. They'd been constructed from the finest mahogany, and I assumed these were the phoenix crossbows we were supposed to be retrieving. The last one was filled with strange golden models of phoenixes. The models all had flat bases so they could be set up, and the eyes of the phoenixes were made from rubies. Boneripper shrugged and picked up three of the crates. He gestured for me to pick up the other two, and I obliged. The crates were bulky and difficult to carry, but I managed it.

"Now escaping with these things is the difficult part," Boneripper said. I nodded in agreement. We walked as quickly and as casually as we could out of the vault room and into the main corridor.

We joined the flow of Phoenix Gang members travelling down the corridor. We earned many suspicious looks from people we passed due to the crates we were carrying. We heard shouts from behind us and an arrow flew past me, barely missing my left ear. We sprung into a run to try and evade the people chasing us. We successfully reached the stairs and we bounced up them, two at a time. We encountered guards who attempted to stop us on the way up, but Boneripper killed them with simple swings of his hook. We eventually reached the top and we ran into the collapsing house, gasping for breath. We were met with dozens upon dozens of Phoenix Gang members, all pointing swords and bows towards us.

"Hold these," Boneripper grunted, handing me the three crates he was holding. I stumbled, struggling under the weight of all five crates. More Phoenix Gang members poured from the entrance, shouting and waving their weapons towards Boneripper. I couldn't fight at the moment, so I backed into a corner. Boneripper was completely surrounded, and I doubted he could escape at all.

Boneripper jumped into the air, spinning his hook around viciously. He impaled three people at once with it, and they collapsed on the floor. A shower of arrows fell down on him, and he somehow managed to evade all of them by spinning through the air. He kicked two more people out of the way and let hell loose on his attackers. He jumped backwards and grabbed the necks of people that stood behind him, killing them instantly. He flung their bodies through the air, knocking down many more people as he did so. He threw the people he was holding into the unstable ceiling, which collapsed, crushing countless people in the process. He killed mercilessly with his hook, barely receiving a scratch in the process. After about ten minutes of combat, piles of bodies lay by his feet while anybody else who was fighting him previously had fled. I could only gape with amazement. Madrey1 couldn't have accomplished a feat like that.

"Come on, kid," he snarled, snatching three crates off me. "What are you standing there for? Are you stupid? Let's go before any more Phoenix fools chase after us." He sprinted away, and I followed reluctantly. I was now absolutely terrified of this man.

We returned to the Black Arm Gang base. Boneripper received a round of applause by the people sitting down, and he bowed proudly. We went into Katrine's office, and she stood up upon seeing us, clapping.

"Boneripper and Cedric!" she smiled. "I see that your mission was successful. Did you meet many difficulties?"

"There were one or two complications," Boneripper sneered. "But nothing was too big for me."

"How was Cedric?" she enquired.

"Okay, I suppose," he shrugged. "He wasn't a hindrance." Katrine nodded, and Boneripper left.

"Cedric!" she barked. "Take the crates to our storage room. It's outside my office, down the corridor and you'll see some stairs. You've done well. If you continue helping, I'll consider letting you into the gang as a full-time member. Take this badge. It will prove that you're associated with us if anybody asks for identification. I will summon you if you are needed again." She handed me a black cloth badge. It had 'Black Arm Gang' stitched onto it, with a stitched image of a black hand in the centre. I pocketed it, taking the crates as I left.

I walked up the stairs described by Katrine, and I appeared in a long room piled high with boxes and crates filled with different things. The shield half was probably in here somewhere! A man in black outfit stood nearby, giving me a strange look. I smiled at him, and he looked like he was going to ask me something. I cast a 'confusion' spell in his direction and I guided him towards the stairs gently. He stumbled down the stairs, looking dazed and… well, confused.

I put the five crates I was holding down and I began exploring the room, opening every box I found. I discovered many odd things, like boxes of coins, crates of jewels, and even a large orb filled with golden liquid. Eventually I found a large crate which had been bolted shut. I blasted the crate open, and inside I found the shield half. I picked it up gingerly, and I turned to leave. I was faced with a red-faced Boneripper.

"I should have suspected as much, Cedric," he spat. "Or should I say, Mainiac97." I blanched as he said my name. He snorted. "I'm not stupid," he told me, his voice growing louder with every syllable. "A lot of people know who you are, Mainiac97. I thought I recognised you when Katrine first sent you to join me on the mission. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw you knock those Phoenix Gang guards out instead of giving them the painful deaths they deserved. I've kept an eye on you, and now I see you taking the shield half. You were put up to this! I cannot let you leave with that!"

He roared with rage, and he threw his hook towards me. It hit a nearby crate, and golden coins burst from the crack he created. He smashed his hook into the floor, leaving a large dent. I tried hurting him with Madrey1's sword but he was too strong and he snatched the sword from my grasp. He booted me in the stomach, and I was winded. He swung his hook towards me, and in a desperate attempt to protect myself I held the shield half in front of me. The hook hit the shield half and smashed into shards. Boneripper held the rope of the hook in his hand, looking enraged. I saw what I held, and I thumped Boneripper in the head with the shield half. He was concussed, and I knocked him unconscious with another strike of the shield half. I looked at it with amazement. Now I saw why it was so treasured.

I glanced at the five crates we'd stolen from the Phoenix Gang and I decided to take them with me. Perhaps King Roald would appreciate them. I put the shield half in the top crate, and I picked them all up with a lot of effort. Tripping slightly, I walked out of the storage room. I staggered clumsily through the Black Arm Gang's base, trying my utmost not to attract unwanted attention. I left the base and began negotiating the alley. If I could get to the main street safely, I'd be fine. I stumbled out of the alley, breathing a sigh of relief as I saw the Blue Moon Inn.

I walked through the town square, feeling foolish. I approached the palace, and guard ran forward to meet me.

"Mainiac97," he murmured. "How may I help you?"

"I wish to seek an audience with King Roald," I gasped, feeling my strength sag under the massive weight of my crates. "Is he free?" The guard ran to check, and I put down my crates, sighing with relief. He returned shortly. "King Roald is free," he informed me. "He also seemed to show delight when I mentioned that you were holding crates. Perhaps he was expecting you. Let me help you with those crates. I will guide you to his throne." He clicked his fingers, and two guards approached us. They took one crate each while I carried the other two.

We walked through the exquisite corridors of the palace until we arrived at a large oak door flanked by three guards. One of them opened the doors for us and we entered. We were in a large room dotted by guards. Red carpets covered the floor, and two massive gold thrones stood on the far side of the room. One of these thrones was occupied by none other than King Roald himself, who currently looked magnificent in long purple robes. I assumed that the other throne was for Queen Ellamaria. I was marched up to King Roald, and I dropped my crates while the guards placed theirs by my feet.

"Greetings, Mainiac97," King Roald said in a loud, booming voice. I bowed. "Please tell me the reasons for your visit, although I already suspect them."

"Your majesty," I said, bowing. "You sent me on a mission to infiltrate the Black Arm Gang's lair and find the missing half of the powerful Shield of Arrav. I have come to you to report that the mission has been successful." King Roald raised an eyebrow.

"So you have the shield half?" he whispered. I nodded. He jumped up and whooped in a most unprofessional manner. "For years I have been looking for it!" he exclaimed. "I have hired men to burrow through piles of notes to try and find out where the shield half last was. I've paid the most experienced detectives to try and locate it. I've spent the last decade looking for people who would find it. Now I decide to send you on the job, and you succeed! Please show it to me." I dove into a crate and I found the shield half. I handed it to him and he inspected it, looking like a delighted schoolchild.

"This is definitely part of the Shield of Arrav. I've spent many nights with the other half, puzzling over it. I know the feel of it, the scent of it. However, I must ask you about what you had to do to retrieve this," King Roald said curiously. So I repeated to him my efforts. I told him of my luck in finding a tramp that happened to know the whereabouts. I told him about my stumbling upon the lair and speaking to Katrine. I described to him the robbery of the Phoenix Gang lair with Boneripper and finding and stealing the shield half afterwards. "So you mean to tell me you know the whereabouts of the Black Arm Gang and, through them, the Phoenix Gang?" King Roald enquired. I nodded. He clapped me on the back. "Not only have you recovered an ancient artefact, you've revealed to us the location of two of the most dangerous gangs in Varrock. The people I hired previously failed," he remarked. "Yet you have succeeded because of your initiative and quick thinking. Well done. Now, what else have you got to show me?"

"These are the crates that we found inside the Phoenix Gang's vault," I explained. "I decided to bring them with me to give to you, because I feel that they must be of some black criminal value if the Black Arm Gang sent Boneripper to steal them."

I opened up the first crate and the phoenix crossbows were all piled up inside. He picked one of them up gingerly. "I've heard about these crossbows," he muttered darkly. "They are the finest of their kind. Of course the Black Arm Gang would want them. Just look at the sleek quality of the wood and the potential power of the string. No wonder the Phoenix Gang protected them so well. Now we have samples. For your hard work, you should keep some. Will five be enough?" I nodded quickly, flabbergasted. I opened the second crate and this was also full of phoenix crossbows. The third crate was filled with the diamond-tipped arrows and King Roald inspected them. "These seem to be of a specific make," he uttered. "They were probably made to go with the crossbows. Here, take a hundred. That still leaves us with plenty. This can be used as evidence against the Phoenix Gang." The fourth crate was filled with different gems, and King Roald waved them off, saying that I could keep them.

When I showed him the strange golden phoenix statues, he seemed surprised. "I don't understand why they would have these," he told me. "Perhaps they're of some value. Perhaps they serve a purpose. Either way, I thank you very much for giving them to me. You may take some, we don't need them all." I took ten, thanking King Roald.

"Well, once again, thank you for the shield half, these Phoenix Gang artefacts, and your information," King Roald grinned. "I will reward you with 20, 000 coins. That should suffice. Also, take this." He handed me an experience lamp. "Use it wisely. You've strengthened the trust I have for you. You may leave." I was escorted from the throne room by two guards, and back outside. I looked in my left hand; I saw I was clutching a scroll. I read it.

**Congratulations! You have completed The Shield of Arrav.**

**You have earned:**

**1 quest point**

**20, 000gp**

**Experience lamp**

**Phoenix Gang artefacts**

I smiled at the scroll, feeling very pleased. My quest book flew out, and the scroll attached itself to a page in the book, which then returned to my bag.

I decided to take the golden phoenix statues to the Grand Exchange to get them valued. I walked into the bustling trade centre, feeling insignificant compared to the enormous pillars and hand statue. I queued up patiently, and eventually my turn came.

"Hello," I said politely. "I have something odd here, and I don't know its value or if it serves any purpose. Do you think you can help me?" he lady behind the desk took the statue out of my hands, looking slightly bored. She pulled out a small hammer and tapped the statue with it. She prodded it with several different curious instruments and waved a rune-like object over it. After weighing it with a strange set of scales and pressing some odd buttons she handed it back to me.

"I can reveal that the statue is worth about 30, 000gp in gold and rubies," she said. "However, I cannot buy it off you or exchange it until I can be completely sure. This is mainly because it carries an enchantment of sorts, but my magic tool cannot specify which enchantment. I can assure you, however, that the spell isn't harmful and it is safe to hold and display. If you let me take this, I can find out a definite price for you by the end of today and it will be placed in your bank with a note attached to it. Is that okay with you?" I nodded and she put the statue on a table behind her.

I gave the phoenix crossbow to her to value and she chuckled. "I can reveal to you the price of this crossbow," she told me, looking amused. "This is a rare type of crossbow and I can buy it off you for 40, 000." I gasped. "Would you like to sell it?" I shook my head. Perhaps I'd sell it another time, but for the time being I wanted to keep everything.

"While you're here, are there any bank exchanges you would like to make?" she asked. I nodded again. I pressed in my PIN and my bank opened in front of me. I put in all of my golden statues barring one, all of my crossbows barring one, all of my arrows, my gems and my experience lamp. I closed my bank account and I teleported to my house.

After polishing my armour, recovering with a meat sandwich and feeding my pets, I went to my trophy room. I took my Black Arm Gang badge from my pocket and I placed it in an empty stand. Next to it I placed the phoenix crossbow and the golden phoenix statue I'd kept. It would always remind me of my little adventure.

As I admired the new additions to my trophy room, I considered the day's events. Although I felt proud that I'd single-handedly unveiled the hideouts of two criminal gangs as well as recovered the missing half of the Shield of Arrav, I felt slightly guilty. The badge was a sign of my act of deception and it was a symbol of hatred, shame and back-stabbing. I'd associated myself with a heinous gang and I'd worked closely with a horrific assassin, and even if it had been for the better good I would never forgive myself for achieving what I'd achieved.

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. My question to you is, what are your opinions of Boneripper thus far? Do you think Mainiac97 should be wary of him and maybe even the whole Black Arm Gang seeking revenge?<em>

_I must give a mention here to Haseo the Terror of Death._ _Although I own Boneripper because I created him, he also features in Haseo's 'The Sphere of Varrock' stories, so therefore he is a small part of our shared universe._

_Some of you have reviewed, asking for characters to be featured. Although I respect your reviews and your requests and if it was convenient, I would use all your characters, I can't use all requests because the story has so many characters already. If you want a character in the story, write them out fully (their history_, _their skills, their appearence, their personality, etc), because at some point I plan to hold a 'character competition' of sorts, where you can give your full requests to me and I will feature my three favourite requests in the story. _

_Next time, expect to see a little something for Halloween ;)_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	5. Chapter 5: DeathCon II

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?  
><em>

_(Cue lightning and organ music) Muahahahaha! Welcome, dear readers, to my Halloween special 2011! This special is based loosely off Jagex's Halloween event 2011 with massive changes to plot and context, but I've bonded together the Jagex event with a classic RuneScape quest. I hope you enjoy the result!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5: DeathCon II<strong>_

"I found it!" I yelled, brandishing a black box. Everybody in my vicinity at that moment whooped and cheered. I placed the box on the floor, and the floor surrounding the box was covered with a layer of black mist. An ominous figure that looked like Death made from black mist floated upwards from the box and began floating around.

It was Halloween, and I was hosting a Halloween party in my house at 8:30pm in the night. At the moment it was 2:00pm in the afternoon, and numerous people were currently in my house, helping me prepare for the party. Osrie1 and Amy11 were helping, which I was grateful for. Osrie1 was helping with the decorating while Amy11 was helping with the cooking and the catering. My house was currently being decorated with all kinds of spooky objects that gave it a suitably scary feel. I'd hired an organ and an organist for the night to make spooky music to add to the atmosphere I was aiming for. I'd hired a small team of chefs to prepare the food, which would be set out in my dining room. I planned to hold events in my games room and combat room, including duelling in costumes, pumpkin-themed throw-the-hoop games, beat-the-vampire (the vampire being the clay punching model in the games room), and more. It was a chance for me to really show off my house. The party had cost me quite a bit, but it would be a great party and I felt that it was worth the expense.

Helping me also was Capablanca, Jamie, and some other white knight friends. Capablanca had been one of my first friends and had accompanied me on many of my adventures. Jamie was another good friend of mine. I'd met him when I first came to Falador. I was currently wearing my snazzy skeleton costume and I had my fear amulet from a few years ago in my pocket, so I could use it while trick-or-treating before the party to help inspire fear. Perhaps it would earn me some extra treats.

At that moment, the sky turned black. Everybody ran to the windows and peered into the sky with fascination. Suddenly, there was a crack of thunder, and the clouds began swirling. I could hear a roaring sound of wind coming from my portal, and I was shocked to discover purple mist pouring from it. A single bony hand emerged from the portal, and I stumbled backwards in fright. A cloaked black figure stepped through the portal. The figure held up a scythe and let off a screeching sound. Fright filled my stomach, until I recognised the figure as Death. I sighed with relief. But, few other people apart from Osrie1, Amy11 and I recognised Death, so people were running around in panic. Death chuckled softly.

"Behold!" Death yelled. "I am Death, the harvester of souls! I mean no harm!" People slowly calmed down and continued doing their work, eyeing Death suspiciously. I couldn't exactly blame them. Death was an ultimate troll because of his trick involving the clouds and the mist, although I had to admit he performed the scare very well. He clicked his fingers and the clouds returned to normal and the mist vanished.

"Mainiac97," he growled. "All tricks and jokes aside, I have come to you because I would like you to do a task for me. Instead of allowing you to approach me for me to offer you a task, I am approaching you for a specific reason; your experience with vampires. Allow me to elaborate.

"You see, I own a clan citadel for me and my clan, The Horsemen (not to be confused with the horsemen you met in the Stronghold of Security). I am holding a Halloween event in my citadel this year, an event called DeathCon II. Only people who are invited and have received a special DeathCon II amulet can enter the citadel by entering the portal that normally leads to my house. Those who enter the portal and are not wearing an amulet will enter my house, where I can assign them a small task, as I normally do.

"Since this event is a Halloween event, I always have special guests who are representatives of certain scary Halloween creatures. For example, I have paid a necromancer to animate a corpse for me, so I have a zombie representative (the zombie will be controlled to a degree by the necromancer). But, this year, I have had a gigantic problem with my vampire representative. The vampire I invited to be a representative sent me a note this morning to say he couldn't attend. I've had a nightmare, sending notes to different vampires to try and find a replacement. I can't invite any vampire because vampires are unpredictable creatures, so I have a list of certain vampires that would be suitable guests. However, all of the vampires I contacted replied saying that they were not interested. All, except one.

"This vampire in question is a respectable vampire, or at least as respectable as vampires can get. However, the vampire was very unhappy, and I cannot afford to have unhappy vampires as special guests, since anything could happen. I know why the vampire is unhappy. It relates to his relation to a certain Count Draynor of Draynor Manor." I gasped quietly. I recognised the name. I'd heard plenty of local lore about Count Draynor, a vampire who called Draynor Manor his home and attacked the people of Draynor Village at night. "Count Draynor, you see, was banished from the vampire homeland, and his activities have upset the vampires he has relations to. This brings me to what I would like you to do.

"You have had experience fighting vampires stronger than Count Draynor, so I would like you to go into Draynor Manor and slay him. I know that, if Count Draynor was slain, it would appease my guest. I would like you to give me his cape, to show to my guest vampire. I will reward you well for your efforts. Slaying Count Draynor would also count as completing a quest. Your friends could help you as well, and I would reward them equally. Are you interested?"

I thought about it for a minute. It was a very sudden request, but it would be an exciting trip. It would be a suitably scary quest to do on Halloween. I decided to accept the quest. "I'll do it," I said firmly. Death nodded. "However, could you give me some advice about how to handle exploring the manor? Also, why can't you do it yourself? After all, you are Death. Why ask me?"

"Thank you," Death rumbled. "I asked you because I know you. I know you are trustworthy. Also, I know of your experience with vampires previously. I know you could complete the quest successfully. I can't do this quest because I am not supposed to have a say in any creature's fate. As for advice, I can tell you that the greatest threat, second to the count, is the manor itself. There is a haunted consciousness about the house. It will try and fool you, and trick you. Don't let yourself fall victim to the wicked whims of Draynor Manor. The front door will remain unlocked… but if you enter the front door, it will not let you exit. I can tell you that there is another entrance… and the way to unlock it is closer to you than you may realise at first. If you come across the resident Black Witch of Draynor Manor, don't antagonise or underestimate her. Even the count fears her. Also, remember that vampires are trickier to kill than normal. You can only truly kill a vampire either by mutilating them to the point that they cannot live, or by stabbing them through the heart, preferably with a stake. Also remember that garlic and enchanted water weakens a vampire. That is all the advice I have for you. Good luck. When you've finished, you can find me in my house." At that, Death turned around and left my house.

Osrie1 and Capablanca agreed to accompany me. We left my house, appearing in Lumbridge. Lumbridge was decorated well for Halloween, with pumpkins dotting the streets and scary decorations hanging in between houses. People were dressed up in Halloween costumes, prepared for the trick-or-treating that would be happening in the evening. We walked through Lumbridge, and we approached the Draynor crossroad. We turned right, and the soil was turning noticeably dryer as we followed the dirt path. The trees were dead, and the ominous croak of a magpie made the three of us feel restless.

The manor loomed overhead. Everything about it was black, dirty and dusty, from the grimy windows, to the black-painted walls, to the roof tiles. I was sure I could see a dead tree move its branches to my left. I was beginning to question whether taking on this quest was wise. The Draynor Manor was considerably spookier than I'd anticipated. I always assumed that everything I'd heard from the Draynor locals was exaggerated.

We ignored the front door which seemed to be beckoning to us, and we turned left and walked around the house. We could see nothing through the windows, but we could hear suspicious noises, such as moans, groans, whispers and screeches. It sent shivers down my spine. We walked through a cabbage patch, and the cabbages seemed to be shivering. Suddenly, something grabbed my arm. I spun around, and all I could see was a tree branch gently touching my arm. I growled in fear and frustration, and I chopped off the branch swiftly with Silverlight.

We approached a small back door carefully. I tested the handle. The door didn't budge. I groaned. How were we going to enter the mansion? Going through the front door would be dangerous, because Death said that it would close and lock behind us. How were we supposed to open a locked back door? Frustrated, I put my hands in my pockets.

I felt a key in my pocket; the very key that Ninjamouse1, the lost man in Falador, gave me years ago. I removed the key, inspecting it closely. I then looked at the keyhole in the locked door. It was a long shot, but I was willing to try anything at that moment. I put the key in the door, and the door slowly swung open. Capablanca and Osrie1 stared at me, shocked.

"My dear noob," Capablanca spluttered. "How did you manage to do that? Where did you get that key from?"

"A man called Ninjamouse1 gave it to me," I murmured.

"But how were you to know that it was to fit in there?" Capablanca asked, looking slightly confused. I shrugged.

"It was a pure coincidence," I replied. But I had to ask myself, how did Ninjamouse1 acquire such a curious key? I tried to remember exactly what Ninjamouse1 said to me, all those years ago…

"_I remember you sent me a key last Christmas," I reminded him. "What does it do?"_

"_I don't really know," he confessed. "I was on my way back to Falador after selling some armor to noobs in Lumbridge and I found a dying man on the crossroad near Draynor. He told me to give the key to someone trustworthy, or keep it myself. He then died. I had no use for it, but I thought, as an adventurer, maybe you would." I felt in my pocket, and took the key out. He nodded towards it. "You never know."_

It made more sense to me now. That man had obviously somehow acquired a key for the back door of Draynor Manor, and had given it to Ninjamouse1, the first person he encountered, before he died. Ninjamouse1 had then given it to me, knowing that I'd be able to make some sort of use of it. I relayed my thoughts to Osrie1 and Capablanca, and they seemed awestruck. It was a gigantic coincidence, but it was a good one, because we were now able to safely enter and exit the Draynor Manor. If something went wrong we could easily flee from the manor.

We entered the manor, feeling apprehensive. We'd walked into a dilapidated kitchen. Everything was covered with rust and dust, and the stove was so rusty it looked ready to collapse into dust. We nervously walked through another door and into a long hall. The floor was made from wood, and a dusty gigantic chandelier hung overhead. A bat flew from some dark recess of the hall, screeching. We walked through; we were trying to ignore the massive portraits that we passed that seemed to be staring at us. We walked through another door and found ourselves in a strange room that was in an odd, circular shape. A large stairway to our left would take us upstairs, while many other doors surrounded us. We discussed our next step for a bit, and we decided to go through the nearest doorway, in the hope that it would take us somewhere.

We were in a sitting room of sorts, except all the chairs were moldy, all the tables looked ready to collapse, and the carpets underneath us were covered with suspicious stains. There were no other doors in here. There was a window in this room, but it was so dirty we couldn't see through it. We heard a creaking noise from behind us. We spun around simultaneously… there was nothing there. We heard a strange cackling noise from above us. Panicking, we rushed out of the room.

I opened another door, and we were faced with what seemed to be an empty storage room. We closed the door, and the moment we closed it something started scratching the door from the other side. Alarmed, I opened the door again. There was nothing there. I shut the door, my heart thumping. I tried opening another door, and it refused to budge. The next door I tried was slightly jammed. Growing cross, I yanked at the door. It burst open, and a zombie jumped from behind it. The zombie roared, and I screamed with fright and fell backwards. The zombie grabbed my leg, and began dragging me across the floor. Osrie1 ran up to the zombie and kicked it squarely in the chest. It moaned and its grip on my leg weakened slightly. I pulled myself free and smashed Silverlight through its skull. It fell back, coughing up disgusting green liquid. I removed Silverlight from the zombie's skull and Capablanca beheaded it swiftly. We all patted each other's shoulders, panting.

For the first time in ages, I was genuinely scared. The manor had an ancient, evil feel to it which made my insides squirm. I didn't want to spend a moment longer in here, but if I wanted to complete the quest and slay the wicked Count Draynor I had to persevere and ignore the nasty surprises that waited around every corner in this wretched place.

There were only two doors left that we hadn't already opened. We walked through one of them and found ourselves in a hallway. We followed the hallway, and we heard a scream from above. Trying not to crack, I ignored the scream and continued forwards with newfound gusto. We opened the door on the other end, and we walked into what seemed to be a study of sorts. We soon realized that we were not alone.

Sitting in a dusty armchair, reading a large tome, was a woman. She wore a flowing black dress, and she held herself in a headstrong yet elegant way. Her long, curly brown hair fell around her shoulders. She saw us and she sat upwards, looking at us suspiciously.

"Can I help you?" she hissed, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Yes," I replied, trying to keep a calm exterior. "By any chance, are you the resident Black Witch of this manor?"

"I am," she growled, picking up an oak staff that was emitting a strange purple light. "I also have a name. You may call me Gwendolyn. What does it mean to you? Do you want me to concoct a potion of death for you? Or are you naïve young men who want me to make a love potion so you can win the affections of some airheaded girl? Or would you like me to cure the zombie virus?" She shuddered suddenly, almost as if the mention of curing the zombie virus had brought back some unfavorable memories.

"No," I replied, growing slightly impatient. "I'm here to try and find Count Draynor so I can slay him. Could you tell me where I can find him?" She laughed suddenly, wiping away a tear.

"You really are naïve," she said, sounding very amused. "But I won't refuse you, mainly because you're so handsome." She fluttered her eyelashes at me, and I turned my head, trying to resist her feminine charm. I wouldn't let myself be seduced by a witch. "If you go through that door over there and follow the corridors, you'll eventually find some large stairs leading downwards. If you want to fight with a vampire then you should go down there." I thanked Gwendolyn the witch, and she nodded. She returned to her tome, mumbling something about bringing back the dead. We walked through the door she directed us through.

We followed some more eerie corridors and walked through some more dusty and dilapidated rooms, trying to ignore the obvious tricks. We soon arrived at a door which was hanging off its hinges. I knocked it off, and we walked into a long room with two sets of stairs (one leading downwards and one leading upwards). I knew we'd discovered our target. Casting each other nervous glances and keeping our hands on our weapons, we slowly walked down the stairs.

We were in a small, damp, cold stone room. Puddles of blood dotted the room, and a lone bat hung from the ceiling. The room was lighted by small oil lamps hanging from the walls. A bloody skeleton lay nearby, inspiring fear into our chests. A small set of stairs led up to an elaborately decorated mahogany coffin. Latin words and images of bats and spiky vines were carved all across the coffin. We slowly approached the coffin, and I extended a hand towards the coffin. Screwing my eyes shut, I flung the coffin open. The pale corpse of a middle-ages man lay inside the coffin, seemingly dead. The man wore rich black-and-red garments, and an extravagant black cape. I looked at the man. Was this Count Draynor? The seemingly dead man looked nothing like I'd imagined. I'd expected a ferocious, wild, bloodthirsty beast, not a well-robed dead man. I decided, to be safe, I should stab the corpse, to ensure that the dead man was truly dead. At that very moment, the corpse jumped upwards, hissing.

I collapsed backwards as Count Draynor towered above me, grinning and showing fangs. He pounced towards me and I struggled against the huge strength of a vampire. I tried my hardest to stab Count Draynor, but he was too strong and I found no way of overpowering him. Capablanca struck him from behind, and he flung me into a wall and turned to Capablanca, cursing softly in a foreign tongue. He slashed Capablanca across the face, drawing blood. Suddenly, a ravenous look came across his face, and he moved backwards and opened his mouth wide, almost as if he was getting ready to eat a delicious meal. Osrie1 and I came from behind and grabbed him, struggling with all our might to stop him from sinking his teeth into Capablanca's flesh. He screeched and flung us towards the stairs. We collided painfully with the stairs and he sped towards us. We ran up the stairs, trying to avoid his wrath. We were caught by surprise, and we needed time to collect ourselves. We spun around, and there was no sign if him anywhere.

We paced around the long stairs room, eyeing our surroundings carefully. Count Draynor could be hiding anywhere. One wrong move and he'd bite us and we'd become vampires ourselves. Suddenly, something heavy collided with my side, and I keeled over, howling with pain. Count Draynor stood there, looking both amused and furious at the same time. I flung Silverlight towards his heart but he knocked the attack away like it was nothing. Death was right; Count Draynor was weaker than some other vampires, but he was still strong because he had the advantage of surprise and fear.

I tried striking him again, but I stabbed his arm instead. Hissing with pain, he pushed me backwards. I walked away from him as he approached me slowly. I flung things at him to try and hinder him, but it did nothing. Osrie1 and Capablanca struggled to try and harm him, but their efforts were in vain. Count Draynor seemed to have the upper hand.

In a desperate attempt to try and harm him, I yelled "Fire strike!" and threw a ball of fire in his direction. He yelped as he was scorched. Osrie1 took advantage of his surprise and mauled his shoulder. Count Draynor knocked Osrie1 away, and ran up the other flight of stairs leading upwards. I needed to defeat him. Although I hated the idea, I needed to give chase and kill him before he could commit any more atrocities. We ran up the stairs after him.

He sprung up from behind me and grabbed me by the hair. I yelled in pain and confusion. We were chasing him! How had he appeared behind us? I had no time to think, though, because I had to try and escape from his grip. I failed, and he dragged me up another flight of stairs. Osrie1 and Capablanca were trying to help me escape from his vice-like grip, but it was hopeless. His trickery had given him the edge and they had no hope of overpowering him. In a final attempt to try and escape I threw my head backwards in a strange head-butt. I must have winded him, because he dropped me. I swung around and sent Silverlight into his gut. He let off an awful, unearthly noise, and he flung me into and through the ceiling. I fell back down, and he threw me into the ceiling again. The ceiling was beginning to crumble. Ignoring that, Count Draynor threw me into the ceiling again… I stood up, gasping for breath. I stumbled towards him and we wrestled for a while. Eventually I managed to push him backwards enough for Osrie1 to jump into the gap I'd created and help me. Capablanca ran forward to attack Count Draynor from behind. He hissed and struck me in the stomach. I keeled over, groaning. He was weakened, so he struggled to block Osrie1 and Capablanca's blows. I saw an opening in his defenses and I took advantage of it. I ran forward, yelling, and I flung Silverlight through the vile vampire's heart.

Count Draynor screamed, and sagged slightly as if all the air was being forced from his lungs. He let off a sigh, and his body cracked slightly as he died. Capablanca removed the dead count's cape and held it high. We high-fived each other and we whooped. Our victory was a joint effort. Although I'd delivered the final blow we wouldn't have succeeded without each other's help.

We left the mansion as quickly as we could; we were cheering because we'd overpowered Count Draynor. Capablanca still held the slain vampire's cape high as a trophy of our victory, and the haunted consciousness of the Draynor Manor seemed to shrink away from us, almost as if it was intimidated by our triumph over Count Draynor. We encountered no spooky tricks whatsoever leaving the manor. We noticed that Gwendolyn the resident Black Witch was no longer in the sitting room she was in originally. We didn't go searching for her, though. If I was honest, she frightened me slightly. She seemed like an unpredictable person. We scampered out the back door and left the Draynor Manor area, glancing behind us as we left.

I knew exactly where to find Death, due to previous events. I walked through Draynor Village, admiring the decorations. Eventually we arrived at the portal that led to Death's mansion. The sight of the portal brought back some memories. We stepped inside the portal and we were whisked away by a cold wind. We were dragged through swirling darkness and we hit a cold floor.

The sky was black and purple, with twisting shapes forming in it. We were standing in the shadow of Death's ominous, gigantic mansion. This mansion had a different feel to the Draynor Manor. Draynor Manor was a genuinely creepy place that gave you the shivers and made you want to flee, while Death's manor seemed more majestic. We approached the door nervously; it opened by itself, as it normally did.

We walked through the typically dusty entrance hall which was dotted with curious people. Sitting in his throne was the ever-somber Death. "Greetings, mortals," Death rumbled. "How goes your quest?" Capablanca stepped forward and held up the cape of Count Draynor with pride. Death stood up and took the cape off Capablanca, inspecting it. Eventually he bowed his head. "The evil vampire is truly dead," he whispered. "Kudos to you three. You should be proud of yourselves. Allow me to present the three of you your quest scrolls." He handed us a quest scroll each. The scrolls read:

**Congratulations! You have completed Vampire Slayer.**

**You have earned:**

**3 quest points**

**4825 exp. Points**

"Here is an additional reward from me," Death offered, handing us an experience lamp each. I pocketed mine, vowing to store it when we next had a chance to use our banks. I'd never used an experience lamp in my time on RuneScape. Every experience lamp I received from completing quests, jobs or events, I kept, and hundreds were piled up in my bank.

"You may now go to DeathCon II, which is open. Enjoy yourselves. To enter, leave my house and wear this amulet," Death said. He handed us a large amulet each. These amulets were in the shape of large purple skulls with glowing green eyes. I thanked Death. He handed us a slip of orange paper each, which had a strange engraving on it, accompanied with the image of a pumpkin. "This is a special voucher," Death explained. "At DeathCon II, in the courtyard of my castle in my citadel, there are numerous stalls selling merchandise. Show this to each of those stalls and they'll grant you some free merchandise worth over 1000gp, at the least. Take this as a memoir of your help to DeathCon II." He then handed us a T-shirt each. The T-shirt was black in colour, with the image of a large skull and 'DeathCon II' written inside the skull on the front.

"I have an additional reward for you," Death added. "You see, I believe we are all living on borrowed time. So, to help remind us of that fact, I am giving out hourglasses." From his cloak he pulled out three giant hourglasses, with sand trickling through the middle slowly. He handed them to us, and I turned mine upside-down curiously. Suddenly, an overwhelming sensation of approaching doom swept over me. A large hourglass made out of fog spun overhead me, and a scary figure made from black fog which looked vaguely like Death flew towards me. I held my hand up as a reflex motion, and the fog vanished.

"That is the emote 'living on borrowed time'," Death clarified. "I'm pretty sure you can make use of that emote while trick-or-treating before your party. Also, I may pay your party a surprise visit, as a little extra. You may now leave. Thank you for your bravery and co-operation. Slaying Count Draynor will please my vampire guest and may finally put an end to this irritating vampire politics I've been caught in, as well as stopping the large amount of lives lost before their time every year as a result of that vampire's heinous actions. Thank you." We thanked him in return, bowed slightly and left.

We high-fived each other when we were outside the portal. We put on our amulets, and without further hesitation we jumped back into the portal. Instead of being whisked away, we had the sensation of being dragged upwards through murky clouds. Eventually we fell, and, like at Death's mansion, the sky was a hideous black and purple, with strange twirling shapes forming in it.

We were in the shadow of a gigantic stone castle. The land surrounding us was dry and black, but the atmosphere was fantastic. People surrounded me, and the smell of pumpkin pie, chocolate and sweets wafted through the air. I could hear laughter, chatter, and spooky music coming from the direction of the castle. We were at the gate leading into a vast courtyard, dotted with several stalls. Past the courtyard was a large opening leading into what was the castle.

We entered the courtyard, smiling around us. Halloween decorations like hollowed pumpkins, smiling skeletons and dancing zombie marionettes floated above us, and we passed a beauty painted all over with silver dancing on a small stage. Fireworks were set occasionally from the roof of the castle. We approached a stall which had zombie marionettes on display. The man behind the stall smiled politely at us.

"Hello," he greeted. "Can I interest you in a zombie marionette, crafted by myself? They cost 1500gp each." I showed him my voucher and his eyebrows rose. "Very well, take one each for free," he grunted, nodding towards the dolls. I took a zombie marionette and walked off, inspecting it. I was pleased, to say the least.

We continued walking around the courtyard, showing our vouchers to the stalls. We received quite a lot of free goods. We received free pumpkins, free candy, free decorations, and I even got a free upgrade on my gravestone. We bumped into Diango, who'd set up shop in DeathCon II. Instead of collecting two previous rewards, I was given an experience lamp instead because I'd collected all rewards previously. Once we'd visited every stall and collected all the free rewards we could, we decided to leave, since we wanted to do some trick-or-treating before we'd return to my house to prepare for my party.

We decided to start off in Draynor Village by knocking on the Wise Old Man's door. The door swung open, and he stood there, looking intimidating in a black cloak, eyeing us with slight suspicion. "Trick or treat!" we chanted.

"Trick me," he grinned. We nodded at each other and we simultaneously did our new 'living on borrowed time' emotes. The Wise Old Man bounced backwards in surprise as Death figures made from fog burst from nowhere. Laughing, he congratulated us on our excellent trick and rewarded us with some wrapped sweets. We continued down the road, attempting the same trick with every house we knocked. Even Aggie the local witch seemed slightly perturbed, and she was typically the hardest person in Draynor Village to scare. We returned to my house half an hour before the party was due to start, smiling with pots full of sweets.

As we rushed around, checking all the decorations and making sure everything was in check for the party, Capablanca stopped me. "It's been a fantastic Halloween for me," he said firmly. "You see, my dear noob friend, I normally spend Halloween on duty, keeping the young trick-or-treaters in check and making sure there's no crime with so many children on the streets. This year's been a nice change. It's not very often that I get to go on a challenging quest like that, and the trick-or-treating was a nice break. Thanks." I patted him on the back.

Eventually 8:30pm came and the party was in full swing. Many friends and acquaintances showed up and the games began. There was a pumpkin-carving competition, and I stretched my muscles in the combat arena with some duels. Sir Amik Varze, despite his busy schedule, showed up, told one or two spooky stories based off his own personal experiences, toasted the party, and left. Death arrived, as promised, and scared all the guests, like he did in the afternoon. He told some tales, showed off some excellent pumpkin-carving skills, and enchanted my house so purple mist would cover the ground for the duration of the party, then, after speaking to some guests individually, he left. I appreciated his visit; it helped set an awesome mood.

I considered my rewards for this year's Halloween. They included the giant hourglass and the emote, the DeathCon II amulet, the DeathCon II T-shirt, and the zombie marionette.

As I stared into my hourglass, I considered the gone Halloween. The quest had been nerve-wracking yet exciting, the visit to DeathCon II was nice and I looked forward to returning there tomorrow while it was still open, but the gone Halloween had made me consider how much time I had left on RuneScape. I considered the robbery of the Wizard's Guild and the dangers it presented. It was a truly scary thought, much more scary than any creepy, old, haunted mansion. My hourglass was slowly drizzling away, second after second, and eventually the sand would have gone completely to the bottom…

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. My question to you this Halloween is, generally, what did you think of my including of Vampire Slayer? Also, what type of Halloween have you had? :D<em>

_I'd like to credit Haseo the Terror of Death briefly. I'd like to thank him for letting me feature Gwendolyn the resident Black Witch of Draynor Manor. I must explain now that Gwendolyn is not my character, and belongs entirely to Haseo. He kindly allowed me to feature Gwendolyn in a small cameo appearence. Did you, as a reader, recognise her straight away? If you want to know more about her character I suggest you read 'The Sphere of Varrock', which shares the same universe as this story._

_I've released a Halloween one-shot in 'The Adventure Through RuneScape - The One-Shots' which features Death, if anybody is interested._

_People have been advising me recently that I need to use all of my characters more regularly. I'd like to clarify now that I'm trying my best to feature everybody and give the not-so-main characters equal 'screen time' so to speak, but it's slightly difficult when working with so many characters. I just want to say now that every character that isn't a main character will be featured equally at some point._

_Next chapter... Mainiac re-visits a familiar place..._

_Until next time, toodles!  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6: TzHaar

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Sorry for the delay, I've been busy so I've had little time to devote to writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 6: TzHaar <strong>_

Groaning, I pushed myself up the mountain as hard as I could, sweat pouring down my back profusely. The great heat from the Karamja volcano itself made climbing it even more difficult. I saw the opening I'd been searching for, and I sped towards it, yelling with joy.

I was searching for one thing; the caves of the mighty TzHaar. Several years ago I accidently found the TzHaar home and I had to leave after I angered them. I'd been studying them since then, trying to learn more about how their society worked, their economic system, their fight pits, and how their bodies worked (their bodies were made entirely from rock and lava and it fascinated me, because I wondered how such a body could work). Now I felt confident that I knew enough about them to explore their caves properly.

Amy11 and Osrie1 would have accompanied me, but they were already occupied. Osrie1 had been send on an exciting job involving the Taverley dungeons and black knights that had built a makeshift fortress under the lead of Roderick there (the surviving black knight lord; Left and Right, the other two, died at the hands of Ray and Hope, while Katrina was most likely still in hiding) . Meanwhile, Amy11 was making excellent progress with her house and wanted to finish building a certain room as soon as she could, so she didn't want to come with me.

Almost a month had passed since Halloween, and those days had been trying because of all the attention Osrie1, Capablanca and I received for our slaying of Count Draynor. We'd received many newspaper interviews and the Lumbridge newspaper was still featuring the story on its front pages. As much as I enjoyed the attention and as much as I liked the Lumbridge Paper and Story Rover it could potentially be annoying, and the grilling interviews were usually gruelling and I had to word what I said carefully. I was glad, however, that our hard work had paid off and Count Draynor was no longer terrorising the locals.

Thanksgiving had passed recently, and I'd enjoyed this Thanksgiving very much. For the first time I held a feast for my friends and the family of some of my friends. Amy11's father had attended, and he was a pleasant man who was easy to talk to. I felt confident hosting events in my house now.

I grasped the ladder hanging from the opening and I climbed downwards into the darkness. I retraced my steps as carefully as I could, trying to remember how I previously got to the TzHaar home. After much careful walking and ignoring red spiders, I found the mouth of a cave opening that looked curious. I stepped inside, and I found myself in a cave veined with lava. Tiny cracks filled with lava covered the floor, walls and ceiling of the cave. I followed it, staying wary of possible hiding TzHaar. I passed a man wearing dragon armour, who gave me a polite smile as we passed each other. I sighed with relief; it was nice to be reassured that there were definitely humans down here.

Eventually I walked into a particularly large cave. I passed a TzHaar and I gawped at it with amazement. It towered over me, looking very intimidating. I tried to recreate the gesture of TzHaar respect I'd seen described in books, and the creature just gave me an odd look with its eyes made from lava. I scuttled away, feeling rather embarrassed.

I passed numerous stalls selling ores, gems, and curious weapons, but one certain stall really caught my attention. I passed what appeared to be a stall made from stone. There was a TzHaar standing behind the stall, glaring at me. On the stall there were curious statuettes made from a strange substance which looked like rock, yet seemed smoother, darker, and much shinier. I approached the stall warily. There was a certain statuette that stood out for me. It displayed the form of a TzHaar battling against a beast that was made from flames.

"Excuse me, but how much does that statuette cost? Also, what are these statuettes made from?" I enquired slowly. The TzHaar growled.

"JalYt," it said in a deep, rolling, guttural voice which seemed to make the ground shudder ever so slightly. "You not accustomed to our way of life. This not silly human statue… this is example of TzHaar skill, made from strong obsidian. You cannot buy with measly human money. You must buy with holy tokkul, our currency. Obsidian craft you want cost 275 tokkul." My heart sunk.

I was very curious about two things. First thing I was asking myself was how could I acquire tokkul? Secondly, this TzHaar didn't seem to respect me very much. How could I earn the respect of such an ancient and powerful creature?

The TzHaar answered both questions, almost as if it could read my mind. "To earn tokkul, you must go to Fight Pit and fight until you lose. You cannot die in pits; volcano reforms you. If you defeat Jad, you earn respect of TzHaar. But you can earn respect other ways too, by making yourself known to us through acts of strength, bravery, or workmanship," the great TzHaar boomed. "We, as TzHaar, also make beautiful obsidian cape. It is fine to look at and good armour. It is expensive but is a show of power. I sell obsidian capes, but armour shop sells them too. Maybe one day you will be able to afford such strong cape." He pointed towards a fine red-and-black cape which seemed sleek and shiny, yet firm and sturdy.

I nodded, and I wandered off to find the so-called Fight Pit. I was determined to earn the 275 tokkul I needed to buy the statuette. I'd then have an object of the TzHaar that I could call mine. Perhaps one day I could even have an obsidian cape to call mine.

After asking many people for directions, I was eventually taken to a hole in the wall. Standing by the hole was a smaller TzHaar. I approached it.

"JalYt," it hissed. "Welcome to the sacred Fight Pit, the greatest test of perseverance. If you die here, you reformed, and you lose nothing, only gain tokkul if you triumph much. Do you wish to face challenge for only the strong?" I nodded, feeling very uncertain. "Make sure you prepared. Enter the Fight Pits."

I was ushered through the hole in the wall, flustered and confused. I appeared in the largest cavern I'd ever laid eyes on. The cavern seemed so vast it felt like it took up most of the inside of the volcano. The other side seemed like miles away. I swung around, and to my surprise the hole I'd just come through had vanished completely. Instead there was even more vast space behind me. I swung around again, feeling disorientated. Were the TzHaar playing some sort of trick on me?

I felt something sharp collide with my side. I was being attacked by a small, bird-like creature that was seemingly made out of nothing but lava. I swung Silverlight towards the creature, and to my surprise Silverlight hit it, instead of passing straight through it. It screeched, and pecked me again. I hissed with suppressed pain, and I struck the creature again. It let off a dying scream before crumbling.

I sighed with relief and continued cautiously into the pit. Out of seemingly nowhere, two bird-like creatures attacked me. They stabbed me violently with their small beaks while I stumbled backwards. I killed them both with a single swipe of my sword. They fell to the floor, dead.

Several more bird-like creatures appeared and were slaughtered before I started wondering if I would be fighting nothing but birds in the Fight Pit. I was surprised when the next wave of enemies arrived, because accompanying five bird creatures was what looked like a relatively small TzHaar with stubby legs and large arms. The TzHaar creature let off a roar and slammed its club-like arms into my chest. I keeled over, winded. I embedded Silverlight into the creature's head and it seemed to collapse within itself. I killed two bird creatures, and, ignoring the painful stabs from the surviving bird creatures, I killed the TzHaar creature. It crumbled to dust, and I felt jubilation until the dust flew together to create two smaller creatures. My foot was violently attacked. They were crushed after several strikes of Madrey1's sword. After finishing off the other birds that had been pecking away at my back the whole time, I bent over, feeling slightly tired.

I couldn't afford to feel tired, though. I heard a slight rumbling sound, and out of the ground a tall, menacing figure rose. Towering above me was an especially tall TzHaar that I sensed was around combat level 90… considerably stronger than me. It growled, and it knocked me to the floor effortlessly. My relief faded instantly and I retaliated by throwing my hammer towards the beast's face. It stumbled backwards, roaring in outrage. It sent a spiky-looking, flaming ranged attack in my direction. It collided painfully with my side. I recovered my hammer and I ran forwards, wielding Silverlight. I let loose several quick attacks, giving the tall TzHaar little time to react. It kicked me, winding me. After exchanging blows for a few minutes, I eventually came out top in the fight and I ended the TzHaar's life with a stab in the chest. It let loose a dying screech before collapsing.

My time in the Fight Pit wore on, and I typically attacked the same three creatures in every wave, except each time they were organised differently. Occasionally I would encounter actual TzHaar warriors in the Fight Pit, and they were always more challenging to fight.

After overcoming a particularly tricky wave where I had to fight three tall TzHaar, nothing happened for about a minute. I took the chance to rest and eat some pieces of cooked meat to recover my hit points. I began wondering if I'd completed the whole thing, but my muses were interrupted by a roar. The floor began rumbling slightly, and two massive, red, scaly hands with grey claws burst from the ground. I yelped with alarm and I watched as, slowly, a lizard-like creature with a bent back and rocky spines pulled itself from the ground. It glared down at me and it showed rows of long teeth. It hissed and it sunk its teeth into my arm with lightning-quick speed. I roared with pain, trying not to shed tears. I dropped Silverlight, jumped upwards and grabbed the tall monster by the throat. It shook me off, unfazed. It grabbed me by the head with its teeth and it smashed me into the floor with great strength. I choked as my chest was crushed by its massive arms. I tried parrying the attack with Silverlight then I struck it in the arm as fast as I could. The beast reacted really quickly, yanking Silverlight out of my grip and flinging it across the ground. I chased it and recovered it before the TzHaar monster threw itself towards me. I pushed back the beast with all my might, searching for a hole in its defences. Eventually I overpowered it and stabbed it repeatedly. We exchanged attacks, the creature's attacks growing weaker and weaker until I finally killed it.

That battle had caught me by surprise and, as a result, I was sapped of all my energy. But the waves never ceased. I continued with much gusto as I could muster before the constant flow of TzHaar warriors and monsters eventually robbed me of any energy I had. They chipped away at my defences until I caved into the darkness and died.

I woke up on the uncomfortable, warm stone floor, a TzHaar standing over me, eyeing me with glowing red eyes. "JalYt strong," the TzHaar commented. "Not strongest, but strong. You earn tokkul for strength. You earn 317 tokkul. Well done. Now leave, unless you want challenge again." I shook my head, not wanting to repeat the Fight Pit process again for a while. I took my shiny black tokkul, and I ran off.

The Fight Pit had been the greatest challenge I'd taken for a while. It had tested my agility skills, my strength, my defending skills, my tactic-making skills, my general sword and combat abilities, and more. I vowed to myself that, one day, I would conquer the TzHaar challenge, defeat the apparently powerful master of the Fight Pit Jad, and earn the respect of the ancient TzHaar. However, my current problem was finding the crafts stall again to buy the statuette that I'd seen and wanted.

After some searching, I found the stall again. I handed the TzHaar behind the stall the tokkul, and he grunted and handed me the statuette. I pocketed my remaining tokkul (I had 42 tokkul left), thanked the TzHaar, and made my way towards the exit.

As I walked down the Karamja volcano, I reflected on the statuette. The TzHaar were masters of crafting. The statuette was a beautiful one, constructed with masterful hands and made from the finest minerals, and it would look beautiful in my decoration garden. The TzHaar were far superior to us in every way, even in their decoration. I would be visiting them again soon to face their Fight Pit again and hopefully save my tokkul to buy the grand obsidian cape.

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. I hope that this chapter was accurate.<br>_

_Just a note to say that Haseo the Terror of Death has written a story devoted entirely to seasonal specials. I suggest you check it out at some point, it's really good._

_Next time... I'm dreaming of a 'bluerite' Christmas_...

_Until next time, toodles!_


	7. Chapter 7: Bluerite Christmas Part 1

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Merry Christmas 2011 to all my readers! Here is part 1 of my three-part Christmas special. I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter<strong>** 7: Bluerite Christmas Part 1**_

"Here, Fierce," I murmured in a soothing voice, feeding Fierce (my horse) with some of his food. "Enjoy your food now." Fierce shivered in response, scraping his hooves through the snow with what seemed like discomfort.

I felt much more acquainted with the TzHaar and their caves now. Since my first encounter with the Fight Pit I'd practised my combat abilities and I'd returned numerous times, dreaming of glorious defeats and cheering crowds. Instead I'd received several fresh bruises (which looked set to stay for a while) and a rather ugly scar across my left cheek. I'd seen slow progress, however, and since that first Fight Pit challenge I'd succeeded in overcoming an additional two waves of enemies. I was now saving my tokkul, and I hoped to have enough to buy an obsidian cape eventually.

Autumn was long gone, replaced by the cold, unforgiving winter months. It had started snowing around a week ago, and right now practically most of RuneScape was covered with a sheet of pure white snow. Christmas was approaching quickly, and I was as excited as ever. I'd decorated my house with tinsel, wreaths of holly, little magical lights, and my Wintumber tree. Falador, Lumbridge, Draynor and Port Sarim had all been decorated elaborately for the festive season, and everybody was feeling jolly.

The moat of the White Knight Castle had frozen over, so skating over that had become a new pastime for me. As a matter of fact, I'd arranged to meet Osrie1 and Amy11 outside the castle within the hour so we could go skating. To skate, I used the ice skates I received several Christmases ago. I patted Fierce on the head and I left my house.

I appeared in Lumbridge, which I'd visited earlier in the day for some Christmas shopping. I saw Fred the farmer in the Lumbridge square, and I greeted him and wished him a merry Christmas as I passed him. As I walked through the streets, I admired the decorations that hung between the houses. I marvelled at the twinkling beauty of the little lights.

As I made my way to Falador, I reflected upon the robbery of the Wizard's Guild. The God Rune had been stolen. The God Rune had really been stolen. It was gone, and in the hands of some madman. I couldn't really digest the gravity of the situation, in all honesty. I didn't really want to imagine what this man could do with the God Rune. I felt nauseous just thinking about what Master Samuel did when it was in his grasp. I just hoped that no serious damage could be made before the robber was caught.

After much walking, I finally arrived at Falador. Falador was arguably the most beautiful city when covered with snow. Children played in mounts of snow nearby, throwing snowballs at each other, while sloppily-built snowmen stared at me from all directions. The already-white marble houses were dripping with snow, and beautiful decorations hung in the windows. I walked past what once was the Falador Gardens, now a hideous mound of soil, filth, weeds and now snow. I sighed as I remembered that dreadful day, when the giant mole, possessed by Master Samuel, destroyed the gardens in a rage. I swept the memory away; although the memory was meaningful and painful, it was depressing me on a day where I didn't want to be depressed.

Eventually, I arrived at the White Knight Castle, which, covered with snow, looked like it had jumped out of a Christmas card. The moat had completely frozen over, and joyful people skated across the ice. Some skated elegantly, while those that were clearly new to ice skating stumbled and tripped. Somebody suddenly covered my eyes and giggled into my ear. I recognised the giggle as belonging to Amy11. I turned around, and I saw Amy11's infectious smile. I chuckled and I gently wrestled with her. She collapsed into my arms, laughing merrily. Although I'd always felt a strong connection with Amy11, the happiness that the festive season brought with it seemed to have made us closer than ever.

"Hello," she whispered.

"Hi," I whispered back. "How are you?"

"Cold," she moaned, hugging me tightly. "Apart from that I'm very well and good. How are you?"

"I'm very good," I smiled, kissing Amy11 on the forehead. We both heard a loud cough nearby, and we looked up to see a disgruntled Osrie1.

"You both had enough canoodling?" he joked. "You've both got your own houses to do that sort of thing. I'm getting cold standing here waiting for you lovebirds to finish." I went up to Osrie1 and patted him on the shoulder. Occasionally I did that to him instead of exchanging pleasantries with him, because sometimes it was unnecessary. He always had a joke on our behalf. It was in his nature to joke.

As I chatted to Osrie1, I felt something cold and wet collide with the back of my neck. I shuddered as melting snow dribbled down my bare back. I swung around to see Amy11 roaring with mirth. I smirked, and I scooped up a handful of snow and flung it at Amy11. She spluttered as the snowball collided with her face. As I laughed, Osrie1 threw a snowball at me violently, almost winding me. _It's on,_ I thought to myself, grinning.

We had a violent snowball fight, and once we were tired out we collapsed onto the snow, sighing happily. I decided to pass some more time by building a snowman. Instead of creating a typical snowman, I decided to create a replica of myself, as I had done before. Using snow, I built some legs, a sturdy body, some arms, and a well-sculpted head. As I reflected upon my creation, I realised that it hadn't quite gone to plan. Passing people sniggered at the monstrosity I'd created. My snow replica had wonky arms and a disfigured face. The more I worked on it, the worse it became, so eventually I murdered my failure and I built a more traditional snowman that was more pleasing to the eye. I stepped back, feeling pleased with my handiwork.

Soon enough, we decided to start skating. I put my skates on and I stepped tenderly onto the moat. I moved around slowly, and after I felt confident I began gathering speed. I moved gracefully across the ice, spinning and twirling occasionally.

As I skated, I looked into the window of Sir Amik Varze's office. I saw him staring into space, absent-mindedly stroking a sword. He looked troubled, and I felt concern for him. Eventually, I decided it would be wise to ask him what the problem was. I got off the ice, took my skates off, and stepped into the castle.

I knocked on Sir Amik Varze's door, and a loud voice from inside gave me permission to enter. I saw Sir Amik Varze sitting in his armchair, looking at a sturdy blue sword thoughtfully. "Sir…" I said slowly. "Are you okay? You look like there's something that's concerning you." Sir Amik Varze sighed slowly.

"Thank you for your concern," he replied. "I'm not worried about anything at the moment. I'm just feeling nostalgic. This snowy day reminds me of a day, all those years ago, when I acquired this sword. This sword is a Bluerite sword, crafted from the rare Bluerite metal. There aren't that many in existence at the moment, and this one in particular is a Bluerite sword that belonged to my ancestor. It's seen many battles. The Bluerite sword is a favourite sword of the white knights, but only the highest-ranking white knights have the honour of using a Bluerite sword nowadays because of how scarce they've become. There was a group of dwarves called the Imcando dwarves that made Bluerite swords, but today the Imcando dwarves are as scarce as the swords themselves. They say there's one Imcando dwarf living somewhere nearby, but I haven't got time to be hunting down dwarves for the sake of my nostalgia. The sad truth is these swords have outlived their time. But still, I dream of the day where I can just acquire a few more swords… that would simply be amazing." I could see a glint in his eye at the thought. I left his office, a smile playing on my lips.

I knew exactly what I was getting Sir Amik Varze for Christmas.

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. I understand that this chapter was relatively short, but I felt it was most effective this way. As you've most probably guessed, this year's Christmas special is based on the Bluerite sword quest. Part 2 will be the body of the special. However, I haven't completely forgotten Jagex's event; part 3 will be my take on Jagex's 2011 Christmas event. And, of course, I will be writing my annual New Year's Day special after that.<br>_

_My question to you today is, do you feel that I should develop the relationship between Mainiac97 and Amy11 more? __Is there room for romance in this book?_

_Next chapter, Mainiac97 has set himself a challenge, impossible to complete at a glance; can Mainiac97 bring Christmas cheer to Sir Amik Varze?_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	8. Chapter 8: Bluerite Christmas Part 2

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This chapter is based loosely on the Knight's Sword quest in RuneScape. It's a bumper chapter, and is part two of three of 2011's Christmas special. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 8: Bluerite Christmas Part 2<strong>_

I sat on a bench in the Falador square, seething. The snow that once filled me with joy now only made me feel frustrated. I watched the passing people with wonder. _I wonder if any of there people know anything about Imcando dwarves,_ I thought sadly.

I'd spent the best part of three hours searching for any leads on where I could find an elusive Imcando dwarf that could make me a Bluerite sword to cheer Sir Amik Varze up. Sir Amik Varze had done so much for Falador and had made my stay in Falador comfortable. I'd done many tasks for him, but it didn't feel like adequate payback. So, I'd set myself this quest to find a Bluerite sword for him, completely unaware of the sheer size of what I'd let myself into.

Like most people would, I started my quest by looking in the library for information on Imcando dwarves. I did find some books, and they offered me some information on some history of the Imcando dwarves and some of their customs. I discovered that Imcando dwarves were very fond of red-berry pies; it was in their blood, and it was their instinct. The librarian was very helpful. He said that I would be wise to search in the dwarven mines for the more elderly dwarves, who would probably be able to help me.

So that is exactly what I did. I went to the mines, but every dwarf I encountered knew little to nothing about the Imcando dwarves. At the very least, they told me that if there were any surviving Imcando dwarves, they would be under heavy guard because of their abilities and how many people would be trying to find them, and as a result they would be bitter dwarves. But they'd all heard the rumours of an Imcando dwarf living in the area.

I'd searched Falador thoroughly for anybody who knew anything about the whereabouts of an Imcando dwarf, but I'd had no such luck. Eventually I'd given up and I'd sat down for a break. I was on the verge of giving up; surely Sir Amik Varze had tried previously to find an Imcando dwarf and had failed. If he'd failed, how on earth could I succeed?

"Where on earth can I find an Imcando dwarf?" I wondered aloud.

"I think I may be able to help you," a voice murmured next to me, startling me. Sitting next to me on the bench was Ninjamouse1, an old friend of mine who'd helped me previously. He was a tall, very thin man who had messy dark brown hair and sunken brown eyes that filled me with dread. I wondered what awful things he'd seen with those eyes for them to look so dead. "Mainiac97… it is Christmas time. What does that mean to you?"

"It's a time of joy," I replied, surprised by the sudden question. "Why do you ask?"

"That's not what it means to me," Ninjamouse1 whispered. "Mainiac97… I can feel the thoughts of all these people. Their sorrows are my sorrows. Their pains are my pains. How can I be joyful when I can feel the worries of others, as well as having to cope with my own pain? The winter brings no joy for me… it only brings the cold… oh, so cold… the cold pierces me so deeply." He sighed gently. "But I can't let my sadness this time of the year hold back the potential happiness of anybody else. Yes, Mainiac97, I can help you with your predicament. I can read the thoughts of these people. Of course, there are so many people passing through Falador constantly it's difficult for anything in particular to stick out to me. But, I did feel the thoughts of somebody who knew something exceptional. This person knew exactly where an Imcando dwarf was hidden. I don't know why this piece of information stuck out for me, but it did. Perhaps I subconsciously knew that the information would be useful for someone. Mainiac97... in a small hut on the edge of Port Sarim, hidden away among some trees, you can find an Imcando dwarf. This person was on a mission to fetch the dwarf in question some food, because it's too dangerous for the dwarf to go himself."

My eyes widened in surprise as I realised what Ninjamouse1 had just told me. I shook his hand thoroughly and thanked him profusely while he nodded seriously. I wished him a merry Christmas and hopped off like an excited child. As I peered over my shoulder to shoot him a final glance I was positive I saw him smile.

I ran through Port Sarim, gasping for air. I was so close to finding the Imcando dwarf and getting the Bluerite sword that I wanted. I burst through the cover of the trees, scanning the area for any sign of a hut. I found nothing except greenery and animals. I continued searching desperately. In the distance I could see a slither of the sea.

After what felt like half an hour of non-stop searching, I stumbled upon a small clearing with a small hut in it. I whooped with joy. I'd found the Imcando dwarf! I ran up to the hut and I raised my hand to knock on the door of the hut. Suddenly, a large hand knocked men to the floor. A shadowy figure towered above me, disguised by some spell. I stood up, groaning. Something heavy collided with my stomach. I fell backwards again, winded. Something kicked me in the shins and I screeched with pain. I couldn't see my attacker properly to protect myself from the onslaught of attacks! I was kicked repeatedly until I was practically begging for mercy.

"Stop it," a gruff voice said. "He clearly means no harm. He can approach." I opened my eyes to look upon my saviour. A very short man stood, frowning down upon me. His head was cleanly shaven, but he had a beard that seemed to be re-growing. He wore a trimmed orange cape which proved his expertise in smithing. "Thurgo is my name. Nice to make your acquaintance," he grunted, helping me up. "Come in." I stood up, following Thurgo with amazement. I entered the hut, ducking my head slightly.

Thurgo's hut reminded me a lot of Doric's hut. In one corner there was smithing equipment like a furnace and an anvil, with tools attached to the wall. In another there was a small clay oven and a relatively cheap-looking stove, along with a small cupboard and a small sink. In another there was a little bed, and in the last corner there was a cupboard with a lock on it.

"Sorry for what happened back there," the dwarf said gruffly. "You see, I'm one-of-a-kind, and these people insist that all passers-by are threats to me. They guard me all the time. It can be quite a nuisance."

"Wow," I breathed. "You're an actual Imcando dwarf." Thurgo nodded, looking slightly grumpy.

"Yes," he snapped. "Now please don't stare, this isn't a zoo. Otherwise I'll scream murder and you'll end up on your backside out there again, being kicked half to death." I nodded, taken aback by the blunt language of the dwarf. "Now, what brings you here? You must have a good reason to be here now, talking to me." I simply stood there, in awe of being in the presence of such a talented and ancient dwarf. "Are you stupid or something? Were you dropped at birth? Answer me!" I was shocked at Thurgo's lack of hospitality.

"Sorry," I stuttered. "I heard that you used to make Bluerite swords for the white knights. I was wondering if you'd make one for me." The dwarf snorted.

"This must be a joke," he muttered slowly. "I haven't made one of those for a while and I don't intend to for many more years. Bluerite metal is rare nowadays. There was some in this area some years ago, but nowadays it can't be found so easily. You need two lumps of Bluerite ore and three lumps of iron ore to make a Bluerite sword. I can't make anything for you without the right ore even if I wanted to, so unless you're prepared to travel to the middle of nowhere to find some Bluerite ore, I can't really help you. Now please go if you only came here to gawp and make stupid requests." I found myself being escorted from the hut by Thurgo's bodyguards.

"Merry Christmas!' I yelled.

"Be gone!" Thurgo roared. "Don't talk to me about Christmas! You can take Christmas and I know where you can shove it!" I was thrown among the trees and kicked a final time in the backside.

I sat down on the grass, my head in my hands, feeling frustrated. I'd discovered Thurgo the Imcando dwarf, but it turned out that I needed the ore before I could even dream of asking him to make the Bluerite sword. Worse than that, Thurgo's generally miserable attitude, especially towards Christmas, was reminiscent of the attitude of a greedy miser. It was quite a predicament. I didn't know how to get past the barrier that was hindering my quest.

I thought back, trying to think of any other similar situations I had been in. Had I ever been in a situation where I'd been searching for a rare mineral to complete a quest? It suddenly struck me. One Halloween, several years ago, I was looking for brimstone, and I went to a wizard at the top of the Wizard's Tower, who then teleported me to an underground cavern where I could mine brimstone. If I returned to that same wizard, would he be able to teleport me to somewhere where I could mine Bluerite? I didn't have many options at the moment, so it was worth a try.

I walked towards the Wizard's Tower and the first thing I noticed was how busy everybody seemed. Wizards rushed left and right, carrying armfuls of stuff and yelling things to each other. I entered the tower and walked up the stairs, watching the hullabaloo with vague interest. Eventually I arrived at the top floor, and I saw the trinket-wizard (the name I'd given to him) fiddling with what seemed to be a large rune.

"Hello," I called. He looked up and smiled warmly when he saw me.

"Greetings, Mainiac97," he replied, sounding cheerful. "How are you?"

"I'm well and good," I grinned. "Yourself? What are you up to now?"

"I'm preparing the portal for our Christmas party," he sighed. "We're holding the party in a special venue and I've been tasked with creating a portal link and maintaining it. It certainly isn't an easy task, considering the nature of the venue. That reminds me; you and your friends are friends of the Wizard's Tower and have helped us numerous times before, so you're invited to the party." He handed me four invitations which were addressed to me, Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca respectively. "I was going to mail them, but giving them to you now saves me the hassle." I thanked the wizard, pocketing the invitations. "So, what brings you here today, young one? Something tells me you are not here to chat."

"Yes, I do have an ulterior motive for visiting you today," I explained. I then proceeded to explain my predicament to him, and he nodded seriously. "So, have you any idea how I can find some Bluerite?"

"That's quite a difficult quest you've set yourself," the wizard said darkly. "Bluerite metal is not very common nowadays. Yes, I used to own a trinket made from Bluerite which had some very odd properties, but the trinket was reduced to ash after a rather difficult spell and replacing it is more work than it's worth. But I have researched it, and there is only one place I know of at the moment where Bluerite can be found. There is some Bluerite deep in a cave in a snowy wasteland. I cannot teleport you to the exact place where the Bluerite is, but I can teleport you to the mouth of the cave, or at the least near the mouth of the cave. Would you like me to teleport you there?" I nodded enthusiastically. "It saddens me to ask you this, but the trinkets that I require to cast the spell are expensive, and the spell will take some of my time and will use a lot of my energy. So, I must ask for some money. Are you able to give me 1000gp for my services?" I fished out the money and handed it to him. I wasn't bitter about it, simply because he was doing me a gigantic favour by agreeing to help me. "Also, if you're able to, could you bring me back some Bluerite ore?" I nodded. "Okay. Here we go."

He pulled three odd objects and a bottle of bubbling purple liquid from a nearby box. He pulled a cauldron out from under his desk and he cast a spell to fill it with water. He cast another spell, and the liquid inside the cauldron started bubbling. He emptied the bottle inside the cauldron and he stirred it thrice with one of his odd trinkets. He dropped the other two trinkets inside, and one of them dissolved. He stirred it four times with the trinket he was holding, and he pulled the other trinket that hadn't dissolved from the water. He cast several spells on the cauldron, and blue mist began to rise from it. He dipped his wand into the cauldron and muttered another stream of spells. Suddenly, the contents of the cauldron rose and formed a circular shape. Weird white light started pouring from the floating liquid, and the wizard cast a final spell on the liquid and it froze, while the white light remained. I was staring at a portal of sorts. I gawped at the portal in astonishment. I'd just witnessed what seemed like the most obscure branch of magic in existence, but at the same time it was beautiful to behold.

"I'm glad to see that you find my magic interesting," the wizard said in a low, guttural voice, as if he was struggling with something. "But keeping this portal open is using energy and runes as we speak. Please enter." Without haste, I dived into the portal, and experienced the extreme discomfort of teleportation.

I landed face-first into a massive pile of snow. Spluttering, I stood up, and I found myself standing in the presence of a magnificent cave opening. It was snowing heavily, and the snow was blowing in my face and slowly freezing me. I entered the cave as quickly as I could, so I could escape from the blizzard raging on outside. I found myself in a long tunnel leading downwards. Humongous icicles hung from the roof of the tunnel, while rocks and lumps of ice surrounded me, blocking my path. I made my way down the tunnel, shivering. The cold was absolutely awful; it pierced my bones and it was a terrible pain, torturing me mentally.

Eventually I found myself at a fork in the tunnel. One tunnel led to what seemed to be a dead end, while the other led even further downwards. I followed the tunnel leading downwards, feeling slightly concerned. I was going deeper and deeper into the tunnel and I hadn't found any Bluerite yet. I was afraid of the dangers that would lurk in deep tunnels.

I found myself inside a large cave covered in ice. I stepped onto the ice and I instantly slipped, falling painfully on my face. Hissing, I sat down as gently as I could and I pulled out my ice skates. _Thank goodness I've had plenty of practises, _I thought to myself. I skated across the ice as gracefully as I could. I was starting to feel more confident until something cold and sharp collided with my side. I fell over, screaming. I looked at my attacker angrily.

A knight stood in front of me, clutching a sword made of ice with what seemed to be pride. The knight's armour was made entirely from ice. The ice knight let off an unnatural bellow and struck me again. I roared with rage and smashed Madrey1's sword into the knight's pelvis. I heard a crack and the knight kicked me in the knee. I slipped yet again and my sword skidded across the ice. I scrambled after it and found myself faced with another ice knight. This knight seemed slightly taller than the other one. Both knights grabbed my shoulders and flung me upwards. I flew into a wall, almost breaking my shoulder. I glared at the knights, spitting blood onto the ice.

I bounced forward and flung my sword through the body of one of the knights. I was on a mission and I couldn't afford to allow some meddlesome monsters hinder my progress. The knight let off a screech before falling backwards. I kicked the knight in the head a final time before it disintegrated. I wrestled with the surviving knight until I overpowered it and was able to kill it. I sat down, feeing exhausted. I hoped I wouldn't encounter any more knights or I wouldn't have enough energy to stand, let alone fight.

_Speak of the devil,_ I grumbled to myself as I saw at least five ice knights skating in my direction, letting off what sounded like war-cries. I had no idea how I'd be able to fight my enemies. In desperation, I cast a fire spell on the central knight and the knight fell backwards, shrieking. His chest had caved in as a result of it partially melting. I smiled wryly as an idea struck me. I sent one fire strike after another at the knights, severely injuring them and leaving them incapable of battle. Killing them was easy once they were on the floor, writhing and making unpleasant noises. I skated past their melting corpses, feeling drained but very pleased.

Luckily I didn't encounter any more knights after that. I reached the other side of the large icy cave and I found what looked like a large pit. What I saw was beautiful; large, glittering, blue rocks filled the pit. I assumed these rocks were Bluerite. I checked my olive-green book; I was correct. I'd finally found the mystical Bluerite! I felt like jumping with joy but I resisted the urge because I felt really uncomfortable inside the cave. However, in the middle of the pit, at the lowest point, I could see a large hole. I could hear odd noises coming from the hole. It would normally be in my interests to shine a light in the hole to see what was making the noise, but I decided against it. The last thing I wanted to do was to wake up some yeti.

I proceeded to mine the Bluerite. It was long, gruelling and hard work, but I knew it would be worth it in the end. I filled my bag to the brim with Bluerite ore; whatever I couldn't use, I'd give away or sell. I turned around, only to be faced with a man wearing black fur clothes and holding a steel pickaxe, with a twitching white moustache and rolling eyes.

"You've mined all the Bluerite," he murmured. "I've been researching the location of the Bluerite for years, and I've spent months travelling to this remote location. All my work has led up to this moment, and the moment has been spoiled by some kid. The Bluerite might take a while to respawn... who knows? Nowadays it might not even respawn. I'm not freezing to death here after all my work. You're going to give me the Bluerite you've mined, brat." I shook my head, feeling affronted.

"I was here first," I argued furiously. "I worked to mine this Bluerite. It's not my fault you were too slow." The man balled his fists.

"So be it," he hissed. He hit me in the leg with his pickaxe, which resulted in agony. I tried to stab the man, but he was too quick and he blocked my attack with his pickaxe. He pushed me violently, and I tumbled towards the menacing hole. I clung onto a nearby rock, barely holding on. He approached me, smirking evilly.

With every ounce of energy I had, I forced myself upwards and tried head butting him. The attack glanced off him and he hit me with his pickaxe. I sunk Silverlight into his thigh, and he howled. He swung his pickaxe around violently, and one well-placed punch from me sent him off-balance. I shoved him a final time and he tumbled into the hole. All I could hear was a dreadful crunching noise and a yelling. I peered carefully into the hole and what I saw shocked me so much I almost tumbled into the hole myself.

I saw several giants wandering around what seemed to be a hidden cave. The giants were dressed in large rags and they were covered with ice. At that moment, they were feasting on the mangled corpse of the mad man. I retched, earning several interested looks from some of the giants. I left the pit as quickly as I could, feeling sick. I never intended for the man to die; I simply hoped to weaken the man to a point where I could flee from him. It was a sickening way to die, and I felt a twang of pity for the man who'd worked so hard to find the cave.

I walked through the tunnels and eventually left the cave with little to no hassle. Eventually I was standing in the blizzard again. Trying my best to protect myself from the powerful winds, I found the portal and I jumped into it. I was teleported back into the Wizard's Tower. I collapsed on the floor, shouting with relief. The trinket-wizard stood over me, looking down at me curiously.

"Did you find it?" he breathed.

"Indeed I did," I smiled. "I have plenty of Bluerite in my bag. Here is some for you, for your help." I gave him an armful of ore, and he put it away in his cupboard, looking extremely pleased. He shook my hand. Just before I left, I yelled over my shoulder, "I've always been meaning to ask you this, but I've never remembered to. What is your name, sir? I believe you've told me previously, but sadly my memory fails me at this moment."

"I'm Mizgog," he replied, sounding amused. "It's nice to make your acquaintance. Merry Christmas to you, my man, and I will see you in the party!" I thanked Mizgog a final time before leaving the tower.

I had the location of the Imcando dwarf, I had the Bluerite. There were only two things I needed; iron ore and the co-operation of Thurgo. I could easily acquire the ore, but Thurgo was such a miserable dwarf there was no guarantee he'd agree to make anything for me, let alone legendary Bluerite swords. I thought back to what I'd read in the morning about Imcando dwarves. How could I possibly put Thurgo in a good mood, to convince him to make Bluerite swords? I remembered that dwarves really liked red-berry pies... _It looks like a trip to the Cooking Guild is in order,_ I thought to myself.

I proceeded to put my Bluerite ore in the bank. I then teleported to Falador and I made my way to Varrock. I passed the dwarf mines along the way and I visited them to mine enough iron ore. I left the mines and entered Varrock. As I walked up to the Cooking Guild, I wondered if they'd let me in. I knocked on the front door nervously, and a bearded chef opened the door.

"You cannot enter this guild unless you have the correct experience in cookery and a chef's hat," he informed me. I didn't have any chef hats at that moment so I bought one off him and showed him my olive-green book to prove that I had enough cooking experience. The Cooking Guild was a lovely, homely place which warmed my cold hands and made my stomach rumble. Chefs cooked glorious dishes around me. A lady wearing an apron approached me.

"Can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm here to make a red-berry pie to give a miserable dwarf some Christmas cheer." The lady nodded.

"Look around for a pie dish, then you can go to the flour pot," she told me. "There should be some flour in there. Since you were allowed in here I am assuming you know how to make a pie base. Once you have the pie base, come to me for some red-berries. I have a little special ingredient that you could add." I nodded and ran around to find a pie dish.

As I prepared the pie base, I considered Thurgo, and why he was so gruff and pessimistic about everything. I thought about Imcando dwarves. They were famous for their skills, and were limited in numbers. There'd be numerous people searching for them to take advantage of their skill, like I was this morning. They were heavily protected and weren't allowed to do what other, more average dwarves were allowed to do. It was very likely that he'd become bitter because of this. It was a sad reality; he couldn't fully enjoy the festivities because of how valuable he was. This would explain why he was so sad. I hoped that my red-berry pie would cheer him up enough so he'd consider making a sword, or even more than one sword, to make Sir Amik Varze's Christmas.

I went to the lady again and she filled my pie dish with fresh red-berries. She then withdrew a large jar filled with what looked like white smoke. "This, my friend, is Christmas spirit," she smiled. "If the person the pie is for needs some festive cheer inside of them, this should do the trick. Some clever man somewhere discovered a way of enchanting jars and bottles so they'd fill with the Christmas cheer in the air. You'll notice that this year, in winter fairs, there'll be massive pots, slowly filling with the stuff. This should really add a spice to this pie." She opened the jar and drizzled some of the Christmas spirit into the pie. She then put the pastry cover over the pie and cooked it. I watched it cook with amazement; little sparks seemed to be shooting from the pie.

She handed me the cooked pie. It truly smelt more delicious than any other pie I'd smelt. Yes, I could smell the perfectly baked pastry. Yes, I could smell the juicy filling. But I could also smell something festive about the pie, something extra that just made it magical. I left the guild, feeling very elated.

Quarter of an hour later, I re-entered the clearing with the small hut in it, feeling confident, with a bag full of ore and holding my pie as if it were a weapon. I felt the punch in the stomach I'd been expecting, but I still keeled over, clutching the pie for dear life. Somebody grabbed my hair and flung me into the snow, battering my back in the process. Thurgo exited his hut, looking at me with faint distaste. But he saw my pie and his expression changed into one of surprise and joy.

"Stop!" he commanded. "He means well! He has pie! Let him go!" The bodyguards stepped backwards and blended in with the shadows once more. "Come in, and bring the pie with you," Thurgo barked. I obliged, trying not to laugh at his face. There was something primal in his eyes. I gave him the pie, saying it was a peace offering, and he demolished the pie within two minutes while I watched with slight amusement. When he finished the pie and wiped the last traces of red-berry juice from his lips he looked like a changed dwarf. He looked easy-going, he looked relaxed, but most importantly, he looked happy.

"So, apart from offering me delicious pies, was there another reason for your visit today?" Thurgo boomed. I emptied my bag of ore.

"I found the Bluerite ore," I told him. "How many swords could you make with that?" His mouth fell open and he did a quick head-count of all the ore I had there.

"More than ten," he sighed. "Wow, this brings me back to the old days, where I'd make shipments of swords for the powerful white knights at Christmas while eating delicious pies. Wow. I don't suppose one more shipment would hurt..." I almost hit the roof with joy, but I didn't show it.

I must have spent at least two hours watching Thurgo make swords. I chatted to him casually. He was in very good spirits. It was fascinating watching him work. He was so thorough, so masterful, yet so smooth while smithing. He left the swords cool slightly before dousing them with cold water and chiselling them to give them the perfect shape. I sped the process up by casting spells on the swords. Eventually at least twenty-five Bluerite swords were piled up in the centre of the room. I picked one of them up, appreciating the work that had gone into making them. Thurgo sat there, looking tired and worn out but still looking happy.

"Wow," he murmured. "That was rigorous, but it was worth it. Just look at them! They're excellent! Varze will love them! You don't mind if I keep some, do you? I'd like to keep five. I think that's fair, don't you?"

"That's more than fair," I whispered. "You're right; Sir Amik Varze will be overjoyed. Yes, you can keep five. That leaves me with twenty swords... are you sure five is enough?" He nodded in affirmative. "Very well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." He nodded again. I now had Sir Amik Varze's expression when seeing the swords to look forward to. As I left with my twenty swords, I heard Thurgo say two magical words which made me feel euphoric and reassured me that my efforts had been completely worth it.

"Merry Christmas!"

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><p><em>...and that concludes my take on the Bluerite quest! I hope you enjoyed reading that, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. I'd go as far as to say it was one of my favourite chapters to write so far. My question to you is, how far would YOU go to get somebody their dream present? <em>

_I didn't get much feedback last chapter for my question, that being the question of Mainiac97 and Amy11's relationship. Should I try and focus on it more? Should I do more romantic scenes between the characters? Is there even room in the story for some romance? I'd love to hear your feedback.  
><em>

_That was part two of three of my 2011 Christmas specials. The last part (my take on this year's Jagex event) in honour of the festivities, will be coming soon, and I'll put up a chapter in honour of the New Year as well. I hope you all had a Merry Chris__tmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	9. Chapter 9: Bluerite Christmas Part 3

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is the final part of my three-part 2011 Christmas special. This special is loosely based on Jagex's 2011 Christmas event 'A Towering Feast,' with changes to plot and context. I hope you enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 9: Bluerite Christmas Part 3 <strong>_

_I stepped into Sir Amik Varze's office, grinning widely. Sir Amik Varze looked up, a surprised expression on his face._

_"Mainiac97? What brings you here at this time of night?" he asked._

_"I've been quite busy today," I replied, hardly able to contain my excitement. "Do you remember this morning, when you told me about how you wished you could see new Bluerite swords?"_

_"Yes," he sighed. "Those swords... those beautiful swords... it would honestly be a dream come true if I could just hold one more new sword in my hands..." I searched in my bag and I felt the cold handles of the twenty Bluerite swords I'd hidden._

_"Merry Christmas," I beamed, handing him the swords. The expression on his face was something I wish I could keep in my memory forever. He just stood there, holding the swords for what felt like at least ten minutes, just staring at them with awe. Eventually he let off what sounded like a victory cry, putting the swords down and bouncing around the room with energy I didn't realise he had. He thanked me a dozen times, danced around the room some more, then thanked me another dozen times. I just chuckled._

_"You've done the white knights a gigantic service by doing this," he told me, tears glistening in his eyes. "I honestly cannot thank you enough for what you've done. I don't know how you did it, but you did it and I am in your debt. If I could add you to our hall of heroes again I would, but you're already in it so I cannot. No amount of money I have can truly show my gratitude to you. I know these are Bluerite swords because I've been obsessing over my ancestor's sword all day. Now I have a small shipment I can call my own..." He laughed heartily. "The very least I can do for you at the moment is offer you a Bluerite sword of your own. After all, you went to the effort of getting these so you're entitled to one." He handed me a Bluerite sword from the pile in his arms and I held it, appreciating the work that had gone into making it. Sir Amik Varze thanked me a final time before I left the office._

I laughed as I remembered Sir Amik Varze's reaction. My own Bluerite sword was currently on display in my trophy room, where it belonged. It was way too valuable to be used in battle. It was early afternoon, and I was currently sitting in the Draynor square, resting my legs. I'd just walked to Draynor all the way from Varrock non-stop and I was exhausted.

I was on my way to the Wizard's Tower because I'd been invited to their Christmas party. The party wasn't due to officially begin until this evening, but I was coming early because I wanted to help around. The others were busy today and would be coming to the party in the evening.

Feeling adequately rested, I stood up and jogged towards the Wizard's Tower. I passed a shard of ice stuck to the wall of a house and I admired my reflection. I was wearing the Santa outfit I'd acquired years ago. It was still warm and comfortable, even years later. I was also wearing my ice amulet which added a festive touch to my outfit.

I arrived at the Wizard's Tower, panting. The moat had frozen over, but rumours of crocodiles living in the Wizard's Tower moat had scared away any skaters. Sedridor, the head wizard of the Wizard's Tower, had neither confirmed nor denied this rumour; he'd simply repeated the point that putting crocodiles in moats was an effective form of protecting buildings. I ran into the tower and found that it was completely deserted. Feeling unnerved, I explored the bottom floor and saw nobody.

Eventually I grew concerned. Why was the Wizard's Tower empty? I was going to call for help, until I saw a young wizard. I tapped him gently on the shoulder and he turned around, smiling at me politely.

"Excuse me, but where is everybody?" I asked the wizard. "Mizgog mentioned a special venue, and there's nobody here. Where should I go for the party?" I showed him my invitation.

"Follow me," the wizard said, walking up the stairs. I followed, bewildered. Eventually we arrived at the top floor and I saw two wizards and a white knight standing next to a portal.

"Show them our invitations and they'll allow you to pass through into the special venue," he told me before leaving. I approached the wizards and brandished my invitation. One of them cast a spell on the invitation, frowned slightly, then nodded to the other wizard. The wizard gestured for me to enter and I obliged. As I jumped into the portal I braced myself for the discomfort of teleportation, but instead I was picked up by a chilly wind which blew me upwards. It felt familiar to me... was the special venue really where I thought it was?

I landed on a hard floor, disorientated. A firm hand helped me up and I saw the kind face of Sedridor the wizard. He was holding his mystic earth staff. I looked around and I found that I was in what appeared to be a mirror of the top floor of the Wizard's Tower. The only difference I noticed was that icicles hung from the ceiling here.

"Where am I?" I asked slowly. "What's going on?"

"Greetings, Mainiac97. Allow me to explain the situation," Sedridor said, chuckling. "Right now, we are in the Land of Snow. I've been granted permission from the Ice Queen to host our party here. She's given us this remote island to use. Right now we are in an alternative version of the Wizard's Tower, set up specifically for this party. You might wonder why we built an alternative Wizard's Tower here instead of holding the party in the actual Wizard's Tower. There's a good reason for that. The actual Wizard's Tower is full of artefacts (books, runes, staffs, potion ingredients and such) that could be considered valuable. It's risky holding a party in such an important tower, especially since it's inevitable that some wizards might have a bit too much to drink. So that's why I set up this tower; it's a cheap replica that holds no importance or significance, and there are no artefacts here for anyone to destroy.

"We've changed certain rooms around. This top floor isn't Mizgog's haunt, like it is in the actual Wizard's Tower." He gestured to Mizgog, who was standing nearby, surveying the portal and casting spells on it occasionally using a trinket of some sort. "In the alternative Wizard's Tower this room is a portal room for guests to enter. Here, the Herblore room is a medical room. The library is a sleeping room of sorts for tipsy wizards incapable of travel to rest. The dungeon is the actual place of feasting. But the question I'm asking at the moment is why you are here so early? The feast doesn't start until this evening."

"I was hoping you could give me something to do," I explained. "I'd be glad to help." Sedridor grinned.

"If you want to help, go to the basement," Sedridor suggested. "There's a small room next to the dining room. That's the kitchen. In there you can find two professional cooks that I've hired to prepare this feast. They might be able to find some chores for you. Thanks a lot." I shook Sedridor's hand and I left the portal room.

I climbed down into the basement and I looked around curiously. The basement here was similar to the basement of the real Wizard's Tower; spiky rocks hung from the ceiling and the walls had a brown, dusty look to them. But the shape of the basement was completely different to the basement in the actual Wizard's Tower. The basement here was organised into three rooms: one large room and two small rooms separated from the large room. Wizards scuttled left and right, placing tables, chairs, and decorations down. I walked through the large room and peered into a small room. It was completely empty, so I went to the other room and entered cautiously.

I found myself in a rather cramped, very messy kitchen. In the middle of the room, a large table stood, covered in objects relating to cooking. I found that I wasn't alone in the room. I was accompanied by two goblins. One of these goblins was pottering with a large machine that looked suspiciously like a cannon, while the other goblin was sitting down, reading what looked like a thick cookbook. The goblin that was reading peered over his cookbook at me.

"Greetings, human," the goblin drawled. I was taken aback; he sounded surprisingly intelligent compared to most goblins I'd spoken to. "What can I do for you on this fine winter's day? I am currently very busy and cannot afford to waste time."

"I'd like to help you with the cooking," I explained. "You see, I arrived at the party early in the hope that I could be of assistance, and head wizard Sedridor told me to come here because you'd have chores for me. Is that correct?"

"We could use the help of a human," the goblin replied, sounding bored. "My name is Kris, and my dull companion who is tinkering in vain with the machine over there is called Kringle. If you want to be of assistance right now, you should talk to Kringle. He seems to be struggling at the moment. Come back to me in ten or so minutes, after I've retrieved what I want from this book, then I might have a job for you." I nodded, thanked Kris, and reluctantly approached a frustrated-looking Kringle.

"What human want?" Kringle barked, startling me.

"I was told that you had a job for me," I replied indignantly. "I'm trying to help you."

"Silly human little help to smart goblin like Kringle," Kringle snorted. I shook my head sadly; Kringle was considerably stupider than Kris. "But I have small job for human, easy job that stupid human complete. Bucket there. Go outside and fill bucket with super-cold water from fountain. Fountain water is very cold, outside in cold snowy land. Water needs to be from fountain. Go!" Kringle snarled, and I grabbed the bucket and left the kitchen, trying not to lose my temper. I hated being bossed around by goblins, especially when one was an idiotic goblin with the brains of a slug and the other was a cocky goblin with an annoying drawl to his voice.

I left the tower and saw one large fountain drizzling crystal-clear water. I approached the fountain and put my hand in the water. I hissed and stepped backwards when I realised how cold the water was. I filled the bucket from the fountain and went back to the kitchen. I handed the bucket to Kringle, who emptied the bucket into the cannon-like machine. The machine let off a burst of acrid smoke.

"Cooker work now," Kringle noted.

"That's not a cooker," I pointed out. "It's very clearly not a cooker, it is a dangerous cannon. I should know. I've had experience with these cannons."

"I take no advice from stupid human who never do cooking like me," Kringle snapped. I rolled my eyes. He'd see what I meant eventually.

I returned to Kris, who seemed glad to see me. "I do have a job for you," Kris said. He handed me a jar. "For the meal to work out properly, I need you to fill this jar with Christmas spirit. Go around and wish the wizards a merry Christmas and the jar will fill with Christmas spirit. It's been enchanted." I eyed the jar happily. I'd had experience with these jars previously; Christmas spirit had been a vital ingredient in Thurgo's red-berry pie. I left the kitchen and made my way upstairs. I wished random wizards a merry Christmas. They all seemed considerably cheered up by my wishes. As I did it, I noticed the jar slowly filling up with what looked like white smoke. I assumed that this was the Christmas spirit. I approached a particularly miserable-looking wizard and wished him a merry Christmas. His face lit up like a lantern and this completely filled the jar with Christmas spirit. I returned to Kris and gave him the full jar of Christmas spirit.

"Stupid human!' Kringle yelled. "Kringle need help!" I approached Kringle, trying not to show my disgust. Kringle handed me what looked like a severely burnt pipe. "This broken. Go to Sedridor and Sedridor fix," Kringle commanded. "Don't wait, leave!" I obliged, cursing darkly as I left.

I walked to the top floor and I saw Sedridor nearby, welcoming guests who'd decided to arrive early. I tapped his shoulder and he turned around to face me. "Kringle the goblin wanted you to fix this for him," I explained, saying Kringle's name with as much venom as I could muster.

"Of course. You don't seem impressed by the chefs," Sedridor chuckled.

"I'm not!" I grunted loudly. "They're ignorant, they're bossy, they're rude, and it hasn't occurred to them that I could crush their skulls with a single movement! I'm pretty sure Kringle's using a cannon to cook, Kris seems confused, and they're goblins! You're paying goblins to cook a important feast for wizards!"

"As stupid as the situation seems and as disgruntled you are, trust me when I say they know what they're doing," Sedridor reassured me. "They may be goblins, but they are not your typical goblins and they will make this feast a success." He placed the repaired pipe into my hands, and I stared at it, amazed. I was going to ask him how he managed to repair the pipe so quickly, but he interrupted me. "This one staff has the mark of the God Rune on it," he clarified. "This one staff has been blessed by it. Perhaps it was my doing, perhaps it was not, but as a result of me using the God Rune with the staff, I can do exceptional things with it. That includes repairing mechanical parts in the blink of an eye." I thanked Sedridor and left, still spellbound.

I returned to Kringle and handed him the part. I was then called over by Kris. "Go to the top floor," Kris told me. "There is a wizard there who specialises in imps and demons. Ask that wizard for the claw of a demon. It is a pretty crucial ingredient, the ingredient that gives one of the dishes its spice." I nodded nervously and left slowly. A wizard that specialises in demons and imps? That sounded unpleasantly familiar...

I went to the top floor and I approached wizard Mizgog. "Sorry to disturb you, but I've been asked to talk to a wizard who specialises in imps. Where could I find such a wizard?" I enquired.

"Right here," somebody behind me sneered. I turned around and was faced with wizard Greyzag, the evil wizard who summoned imps and had been known to be deceitful. He'd been arrested once for trying to ruin Easter. "Well, if it isn't our noble hero. You've travelled on a downwards spiral, now taking commands from two goblins and a couple of old fools," he jeered. I put my hand on the hilt of Silverlight, but Mizgog put his hand on my shoulder, giving me warning glances.

"Greyzag, could you spare a demon claw?" I growled, exercising a lot of restraint. Greyzag raised an eyebrow, giving me a taunting smirk.

"Only if you say please," he scoffed.

"Please," I growled.

"Say the whole sentence again," he commanded. I cracked my knuckles.

"Could you give me a demon claw for the cooks, please?" I asked, trying to sound as condescending as I could. He sighed.

"If I have to," he moaned. "Oh, the inconvenience you people cause me." He shoved a demon claw into my palm, almost hurting me. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have some imps to summon, since you wizards need servants as you're all too lazy to fetch your own food." He walked down the stairs, shooting me a wicked wink as he did so.

"Do you have to work with that excuse of a wizard?" I complained to Mizgog.

"He may not be pleasant, but his abilities will benefit us greatly," Mizgog replied curtly. "As long as we keep him in check there are no problems." Nodding politely, I walked back downstairs, feeling slightly bitter about the whole situation.

I gave the claw to Kris and he sent me an errand to the Cooking Guild. He gave me money and I was to go to the Cooking Guild and ask for a basket of seasonal berries, since the Cooking Guild paid for shipments of the finest seasonal berries. I was told to keep the money safe and give all of it to the guild; otherwise I'd be turned into a toad forever by Sedridor. As I walked to the guild from Falador, I considered what Greyzag had said to me and wondered if the situation was just at all. Was it right for me to take bullying from a pair of smelly goblins and a wicked imp-obsessed wizard when I could beat some sense into them? I eventually retrieved the berries and I walked back to Draynor, feeling sour.

I jumped into the portal, wondering whether breaking Greyzag's neck was a good idea. I wasn't expecting to appear on the other side and see complete pandemonium. Wizards ran left and right, screaming at each other and fetching what appeared to be open crates of runes. Mizgog stood nearby muttering streams of spells, levitating more crates of runes overhead.

"What's going on?" I screeched, panicking.

"We're under attack!" Mizgog shouted. "Look out the window!" I peered out the window and I saw that the sea surrounding the remote island the alternative Wizard's Tower was on had completely frozen over. Thousands of snowmen marched in rows across the sea towards the tower. They were flinging snowballs, daggers and even arrows at the tower, making an awful noise. They wore thin, cheap pieces of armour and they held flimsy swords. Wizards crowded outside the tower, throwing fire spells at the snowmen. I heard a scream as a dagger impaled a wizard.

I ran down the stairs and burst through the doors of the tower, snarling. I wasn't in the best of moods, and I would crush the pathetic attack on a perfectly innocent party organised by hard-working wizards. I threw myself into the nearest snowman, collapsing the snowman and sending pieces of metal flying everywhere. I unsheathed Silverlight and split three snowmen in half with one strike. I yelped as a nearby snowman sunk a dagger into my side and I destroyed the snowman with a quick-cast fire strike and a stab with Silverlight.

I felt a searing heat fly by me as a wave of white-hot flames engulfed a large amount of the snowmen and destroyed them. Sedridor walked past me, a look of pure fury etched into his face. He waved his staff left and right, reducing snowmen to nothing but puddles. I watched on with amazement as Sedridor practically took the situation into his own hands. But it wasn't enough; whoever was summoning the snowmen was creating many more with equal gusto.

I was attacked by two particularly large snowmen and I destroyed them with some difficulty. However, their attacks had thrown me off-balance and I had to grab my ice amulet to prevent it from falling off. Suddenly, the amulet grew very cold and a snow imp appeared from seemingly nowhere. The snow imp started up at me, confused.

"Mainiac97? You summoned me? Can I help you?" I imp asked, looking confused at the chaos surrounding us.

"Yes you can!" I bellowed over the noise. "I'm at the wizard's party! We're under attack! Is it possible for you to fetch help?" The imp's jaw dropped.

"I'll summon the Ice Queen!" he screeched in reply, vanishing in a puff of cold steam. After about a minute he re-appeared, accompanied by the ever-beautiful Ice Queen, who was wearing magnificent garments made from fine fur at that moment. She saw the hullabaloo surrounding us and she looked livid.

"Stop!" she roared, throwing her hands up. Everybody in the vicinity quite literally froze. She melted the ice encasing the wizards, who looked extremely relieved to see her. Her powerful eyes swept over the frozen snowmen. "Melt!" she commanded, and every single snowman except the snowman nearest to her melted, leaving nothing except piles of cheap armour. She grabbed a handful of the snow from the nearest snowman she'd spared, sniffing it. "Please don't distract me for a second, I'm going to try and track whoever summoned these snowmen," she explained. She closed her eyes and the snow she was holding glowed blue. She murmured a string of spells, shuddering slightly. "Whoever did this is putting up a mighty struggle," she muttered. "That is unusual. But we'll get there eventually." we watched her anxiously for almost five full minutes. "Success!" she yelled, and a figure fell from the sky and collapsed at her feet. She pulled the person's hair and forced them to stand up, and we saw the mocking face of Jack Frost.

Jack Frost was the rebellious teenage son of the Ice Queen, and he hated the happiness and warmth of Christmas with a passion. Every year he tried something different to try and wreck Christmas, although every time he was foiled. He glared at everyone surrounding him, shaking icicles from his black hair and his teenage moustache.

"Jack, you naughty beast!" the Ice Queen bawled. "Every year you try and destroy something! Every year! Will you ever learn that you will never succeed?"

"Mother, one day I will take your throne and I will never allow a bunch of old fools to desecrate our lands with their drunken party. I am your son, and one day I will take your throne," Jack Frost chuckled. All the wizards in the area booed and hissed at Jack Frost. I balled my fists, unable to contain my rage. I punched Jack Frost on his slimy nose. Jack Frost spat a glob of phlegm at my feet. "One day I will exact my revenge on you," he giggled. "One day my mother will not be around to coddle you and I will give you the painful death you deserve." The Ice Queen apologised for her son's behaviour, promised the wizards it wouldn't happen again, promised to make up for the inconvenience, thanked me for summoning her, and left, accompanied by a gloating Jack Frost.

The preparations for the party went back into full swing, a heavy sense of relief present in the air. I gave the berries to Kris and Kringle (who were completely unaware of Jack Frost's attack on the tower). They sent me on a few more other chores, but nothing major. It turned out that the 'cooking machine' was a cannon after all, and it left a huge mess in the kitchen. Nevertheless the heat of the cannon had succeeded in cooking the food nicely (although the food had plastered itself all over the wall and had to be scraped down). It wasn't long before the party was ready and the first few guests arrived.

We all sat down on the banquet table that had been set up in the basement, chatting and drinking wizard mind bombs. The fizzy blue liquid made my throat feel warm and my brain feel slightly clouded. This made me feel very relaxed, which was nice after the trying day I'd had. Eventually Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca arrived. It wasn't long before Sedridor entered, slammed his staff down once and silence fell across the table.

"Greetings, guests," he said throatily. "I would like to thank you all for coming. We have delicious food ready for you, prepared by the finest chefs in the land." I had to hold in a snigger. "I have a few things to say. The first thing I'd like to talk about, though, is the robbery on the Wizard's Guild. It is a trying time for the wizard community, but with the help of magic we can triumph over our enemies. We have been working hard to try and track down the thief, and with some luck we may succeed. I would like a minute's silence in memory of the head of the Wizard's Guild, the true master of magic." We were silent for a minute, and then Sedridor made some other announcements about things that weren't particularly relevant to me. He then toasted the party, and the party truly began.

The night wore on and I had many great conversations with many wise wizards. The empty room I'd seen earlier had been filled with snow and people were having snowball fights and having mini-wars with snowmen. I would have joined them but I felt a bit tipsy and I felt in no condition to hold my own in a snowball fight. During the night, Mizgog approached me, smiling widely.

"Many thanks for your help today," he said, his word slurring slightly. "You haven't been treated very well today. You've received abuse from many sources today, even though your only intention was to help. The goblins weren't very nice to you. Greyzag was foul to you, and, of course, there was the problem with Jack Frost. But you still persevered and helped us. So, on behalf of the Wizard's Tower, I would like to offer you a token of our gratitude."

He handed me a wand with a star on the end of it. "This is a specially-designed Christmas wand," he told me. "Although technically you can use it as a real wand, it is only a novelty object, so we don't suggest you do anything more than teleport with it. If you flick it towards somebody, you'll fling a Christmas-related object in their direction, although it will never hurt them or do anything more than annoy them." I flicked it in Osrie1's direction and a small Christmas pudding flew into his hair. He spun around, shouting drunkenly at me. I chuckled.

"We'd also like to offer you a new emote," he said. He whispered a spell, and suddenly I found myself sitting in the seat of a cannon. The cannon spun around and blasted what looked like lumps of food around. The food vanished as soon as it hit anything, but it did cause some confusion. The cannon vanished straight away afterwards, and I roared with mirth. "We've named it 'chaotic cookery,' and it will always remind you of Kris and Kringle and their apparent expertise in cookery, although the food is very nice," he said.

"Another reward we'd like you to have is this," he explained. He handed me a piece of tinsel and he cast a spell on it. The tinsel grew a pair of eyes and began slithering around. "That is what we call a tinsel snake. Our attic is full of them! You won't need to feed it because it's only a piece of enchanted tinsel, but it can grow a lot, so give it plenty of space." The tinsel snake settled on my shoulders and I stroked it gently, struggling to think of a decent name for it.

"Your final reward is this." He handed me an experience lamp and I stored it in my bag. I was storing all my experience lamps because I hoped that, one day, when I seriously needed experience for whatever reason, I could use them all. Individually they offered little experience, but in bulk they would offer a gigantic amount of experience. I thanked Mizgog for the rewards and went off to mingle, my tinsel snake still wrapped around my shoulders. Eventually I grew tired of eating odd dishes, drinking strong wizard's drinks, and trying to maintain conversations with drunken wizards, so I went home, feeling content.

Christmas day came, and I woke up to a pile of presents at the foot of my bed. I'd received my annual box of Christmas chocolates and biscuits from Santa and the Ice Queen. I found it amusing that they'd written Jack Frost's name as well when it was very apparent that he despised me and would never consider giving me Christmas biscuits. Osrie1 had bought me a trendy shirt, while Amy11 had bought me an ornate potion vial with my name engraved in it in golden letters filled with a powerful strength potion. Sir Amik Varze had sent me a letter expressing his sincere thanks attached to a package filled with fancy white knight feathers to put into my helmet. The Glory Troopers all got me different nice things, while Farmer Fred had sent me a package filled with fresh, home-grown vegetables and fruits. I was saddened to see no greasy package from the Noob Exterminators; it had been a tradition of theirs to send me a greasy package with something nasty in it every Christmas, and with Madrey1 dead I'd received no packages. Though I was relieved in a sense, it was also slightly sad because the Noob Exterminators had been a big part of my early life in RuneScape.

As I lay in my bed, admiring my gifts and wondering if my friends had appreciated the gifts I'd bought them, I reflected on the Christmas gone. It'd been a Christmas of difficult quests and repetitive chores, but it had been worthwhile. Although the wizard's party was over, the alternative tower in the Land of Snow was being kept open for some other events, including a New Year's party.

I did feel nervous about some things. I felt apprehensive about the Wizard's Guild robbery, and Sedridor's words in the party had only reminded me of the constant danger. I felt slightly nervous about the Wizard's Tower inviting Greyzag to help. He was an evil wizard and he meant no good. But, as I munched on a gingerbread man, I realised that these things were to be of no concern to me at the moment, and that it would be wise of me to enjoy my Christmas.

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><p><em>That concludes part 3 of my 2011 Christmas special. I hope you all had a merry Christmas, I hope the remainder of your 12 days of Christmas are pleasant, and I wish you all a happy New Year. My question to you today is, what should Mainiac97 name his tinsel snake? I will pick my favourite as the actual name of the tinsel snake.<em>

_Next chapter will be my annual New Year's Day special. _

_Until next time, toodles!_


	10. Chapter 10: White Knight New Year

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is my New Year's special 2012. I do apologise for the delay. **Let me stress now that this event was made by me and isn't based off any events Jagex**** may have made** **(Jagex don't normally make New Year events).** I hope you all had pleasant festivities and I wish you all a Happy New Year. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 10: White Knight New Year<strong>_

"The Bluerite sword is an ancient and beautiful sword that is made by the talented Imcando dwarves," I murmured. "I really need to remember that line in particular. Wow, this is more challenging than I originally thought it was going to be."

I was currently pacing around a spare armoury in the White Knight Castle, reading from a scrap of paper and feeling panicky. Sir Amik Varze had approached me, asking me to recite the tale of my quest to find the Bluerite swords to an audience in his New Year party. I'd accepted the offer, not fully appreciating the true scale of what I'd let myself into. I left the armoury nervously and I peered out the window at the crowds of people currently occupying the courtyard of the White Knight's Castle. It was late evening, the party was now just kicking off and I was due to read my story within two hours. Scared was an understatement.

Massive preparations had been made for the party. Sir Amik Varze had paid a large team of chefs and cooks to prepare a delicious buffet, which currently stood on the far side of the courtyard. However, I was too restless to think about food. I didn't truly understand why I was so concerned. After all, I'd actually experienced the quest itself and could speak from memory. I was nervous nevertheless.

Sir Amik Varze had also hired Aggie, a group of assistants, and Greyzag to prepare the giant firework that would be lit on the New Year. I didn't understand why Sir Amik Varze hired Greyzag. Greyzag was needed because of certain enchantments on the firework he needed to check and adjust. Why Greyzag over any other wizard? It confused me. Greyzag was an evil person who had a nasty habit of ruining holidays. Aggie wasn't very happy about the situation either apparently, but was forced to make sacrifices.

I'd originally planned to spend the New Year with the wizards in their alternative Wizard's Tower but I decided to go to Sir Amik Varze's party instead. After the festivities, Sedridor would destroy the alternative Wizard's Tower and close the portal connections. I would be sad to see it go, since it'd be confirmation to me that the festivities were really finished. It had been an excellent Christmas and I didn't really want it to end.

Deciding to take a break from my practising, I left the tower and entered the courtyard. I stared around me, impressed. A small stage had been set up on one side of the courtyard, and I would be telling my story on it later. A program of the evening's events had been written and my slot was straight after a performance given by a troupe of dancers. On the other side, a long table stood, with the delicious buffet spread out across it. The courtyard was steadily filling with people. White knights stood around overlooking the party with a hawk's eye. I was considering the possibility of returning to the armoury to practise some more before a jolly Osrie1 stumbled towards me.

"Okay, friend?" Osrie1 boomed, his orange hair flying everywhere. "How're you enjoying this party? It's the season to be jolly." He burped loudly, and then continued. "You should try the chicken pieces. They're nice, they're nice." He grabbed my shoulder and marched me towards the buffet table, filling my hands with chicken pieces. I reluctantly ate them. He walked away from me and tried striking up a conversation with Capablanca. I ate some more delicious pieces, wondering how much Osrie1 intended to drink this evening.

Eventually Sir Amik Varze walked onto the stage and the audience burst into applause. He bowed slightly, looking pleased. I smiled. Sir Amik Varze deserved the appreciation; after all, he did Falador and even RuneScape in its entirety a massive service by running the white knights. After the applause died town, Sir Amik Varze spoke.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my New Year's party," he shouted. "I thank you all for coming today. Another year has passed. It has been a successful year for the white knights, not only in financial terms but in terms of what we've been doing to keep peace and combat crime. Hear more about that later this evening in the white knight's financial account, delivered by yours truly. We have an exciting evening for you. We have many guest speakers on this stage, talking about the year from their perspective and the year from our own perspective. The famous RuneScape Rockers will play for us, a dance troupe will give us a performance to remember, and battle-scarred hero Mainiac97, who has battled the likes of Delrith, Count Draynor, and evil mastermind Master Samuel previously, will tell us a tale. We will count down to the New Year at midnight, with a fireworks display courtesy of Aggie the witch and a representative of the Wizard's Tower." I shuddered at the reference to Greyzag. "I hope you enjoy your evening, ladies and gentlemen, and have a safe journey home." The audience applauded and Sir Amik Varze bowed again before leaving the stage.

The night wore on and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. I ate a little bit and had a beer, deciding that it would be wise for me to enjoy the party while it lasted. I didn't drink too much, though; I didn't want to be drunk and embarrass myself in front of an audience of dozens. I saw many wise and experienced people on the stage, talking about the year gone by from their perspective. A funny man who offered a comedic perspective of the year had the audience crying tears of mirth. The RuneScape Rockers performed and people enjoyed the music. While the dance troupe was giving their performance I was called into the castle to prepare myself for my tale. I panicked slightly and even briefly considered the possibility of running away before discrediting the idea, branding it a cowardly and foolish idea. I just breathed deeply, kept as calm as I could, and reassured myself that everything would be fine. I watched with fear as Sir Amik Varze walked on the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he yelled. "Our next act is a young adventurer who has the experience of an older man. This man has been a hero and has saved the day numerous times. This man, ladies and gentlemen, saved Falador all those years ago by defeating the wicked Master Samuel and ending a dreadful war. He recently did the white knights a huge favour by acquiring a number of legendary swords and giving them to us, and now he wants to share with you the tale of how he acquired them. Give a round of applause to Mainiac97!" I walked onto the stage and waited awkwardly for the applause to die down. It felt very different standing in front of an audience of dozens. My fear seemed to evaporate.

"We've had an excellent winter," I told the audience, who all seemed to nod in agreement. "It snowed and the temperatures were so cold that the moat of this very castle had frozen, allowing people to skate over it. One day, I was skating across this ice. It was very cold, but that never bothered me. I peered through the window of Sir Amik Varze's office and saw him standing there, looking immensely troubled. It turned out that he was dreaming of the Bluerite sword. The Bluerite sword is an ancient and beautiful sword that is made by the talented Imcando dwarves. So, I decided to set myself a challenging quest. I set out to find an elusive Imcando dwarf so I could get the Bluerite sword to give to Sir Amik Varze."

I continued with my story, speaking about the miserable Imcando dwarf, the Bluerite cave and the red-berry pie with enthusiasm I didn't realise I had. The audience appeared enthralled by my tale, gasping at all the right moments and applauding at others. There were times when I forgot what I'd rehearsed, but it didn't matter because I'd actually been through the quest and I could speak from memory. This was healthy because it made the story more organic. I made certain funny comments occasionally, inspiring chuckles from the audience. I concluded the tale, speaking of the happy dwarf and the even happier white knight leaders. I bowed and left the stage, blown away by the tumultuous applause. That night, I discovered a new passion, something that I loved doing; I loved telling stories.

The night wore on and it drew closer and closer to midnight. People approached me, congratulating me on my story and congratulating me on my achievements. Sir Amik Varze offered his financial statement and his own word about the year gone. Eventually the giant firework was brought onto the stage by a group of assistants that were being overseen by Aggie the witch and a smirking Greyzag. People gasped at the size of the firework. I was impressed, but not entirely amazed; I'd seen an equally big firework when I was at King Roald's party several years ago. Greyzag shot me a wink, and I growled. Trying to ignore my growing anger, I watched with interest as Greyzag cast some final enchantments on the firework while Aggie watched suspiciously.

The clock struck 11:55. Chairs had been set out in front of the stage and people were beginning to relax and settle down. I sat down next to Osrie1, who seemed reasonably merry but not terribly drunk. Amy11 sat down next to me and greeted me, offering her congratulations. I greeted her cheerfully and thanked her. We chatted for a bit before the final minute before the New Year arrived, the firework was lit and the countdown began.

"Ten!" everybody in the courtyard chanted. "Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" The firework shot into the sky and everybody watched with amazement as it travelled upwards. Half a minute passed and the rocket showed no signs of stopping. People began whispering among themselves and Sir Amik Varze looked concerned. Everybody gasped as the firework turned sideways and began travelling in Draynor's direction. Greyzag cackled.

"It's too late now!" he yelled. "The firework is heading towards the Wizard's Tower, and you cannot stop it! All the wizards are currently in an alternative version of their own tower in the Land of Snow, very drunk. The firework is so massive it will demolish the tower and everything inside it, break the portal connection and trap the wizards in the Land of Snow with little to no supplies and no way of returning in the foreseeable future. If I'm lucky the explosion might even spread through the portal and cause some damage on the other side as well. This is why I think they are so foolish, ladies and gentlemen! Now if you'll excuse me, I must leave and watch the fireworks. Happy New Year!" The audience all cried and gulped while Aggie fainted and the white knights ran forward to try and capture Greyzag.

There was a large burst of smoke, and when the smoke cleared a tall black demon with large wings and rippling muscles stood. Greyzag jumped on its back and it flew off, roaring. I saw an opportunity and I bounced over the seats and jumped on the demon, hoping to defeat Greyzag and maybe stop the firework. The audience started cheering; the cheering stopped abruptly when the demon smashed its tail into a nearby wall and almost threw me off.

I clambered further up the demon, a difficult task when flying through the air. I punched Greyzag in the face, and he spun around, hissing. He cast a bind spell on me, and although it failed it disorientated me and made me slip down the demon and almost tumble to the earth below. I watched with fear as we approached Draynor and as the firework flew over the tower and made its way downwards. Greyzag giggled with glee and I watched hopelessly as the firework rocketed towards the tower.

I was surprised to see the firework stop abruptly just as it was about to collide with the tower. It hovered in the air for a full minute before changing course and flying towards us instead. I resigned myself to a painful death while Greyzag yelped and teleported with a puff of smoke. The firework collided with the demon and the demon fell to the earth, crashing into a house in Draynor.

I moaned and I pulled myself from the wreckage. I felt my ribs and found several broken ones. My armour was dented and I was covered with cuts and bruises. I wondered why the collision hadn't killed me before I realised that the demon had cushioned my blow. I was still alive. The same couldn't be said about the demon; it'd been reduced to a burning corpse lying in the middle of Draynor. The sky was currently filled with sparks and small explosions. The firework had still set off, obviously. Despite still being alive I still felt awfully weak and I started losing consciousness. Sooner or later I completely lost consciousness.

_The cold wind blew through Greyzag's hair as he sat in the wooden chair, chained down. Greyzag inspected his surroundings, feeling terrified. He was in a wasteland of sorts, surrounded by nothing but filthy soil. Judging by the black clouds swirling in the air, Greyzag guessed he was somewhere in the Wilderness. Suddenly, three people appeared. Greyzag opened his mouth to speak but found that some spell was restricting his speech. Two people out of the three were the MCMs while the third was the mysterious villain in leather armour who'd robbed the God Rune and killed James to replace him._

_"Why exactly have you taken him here?" one of the MCMs asked the man with the God Rune. "Also, I don't understand why you stopped that firework from colliding with the Wizard's Tower. Can you explain that to me?" Greyzag expressed surprise when he heard that the man with the God Rune was the one responsible for stopping the firework._

_"Cloned man," the man with the God Rune whispered icily, making the hairs on the back of Greyzag's neck stand up. "Do you not understand the potential some of the artefacts in the Wizard's Tower have? The Wizard's Tower is famous for protecting numerous magical artefacts. This bumbling, imp-summoning fool here almost destroyed the Wizard's Tower, destroying everything it holds in the process. The tower itself is useless to me. I couldn't care less about the tower. Cloned man, what really attracts me to the tower is the valuable artefacts and spells it protects. Trust me when I say keeping the tower intact will be beneficial to us. I'm keeping this man as my prisoner, not only because he is a fool and could potentially ruin my plans, but also because his abilities could be useful to us." The MCMs look ready to argue, but the man with the God Rune stopped them. "Cloned men, he doesn't just summon imps, he can summon demons as well. Look at the potential behind that ability."_

_"Very well," one of the MCMs muttered. "Either way, we've been working with you all this time and we still don't know your name. You killed James, our old leader, and have assigned yourself the new leader. You've continued work on the potion, you've plotted numerous things and we've been obedient all this time, but you've never given us your name. What should we call you?"_

_"You will never know my true identity, clone," the man snapped. "But... you can call me Fiend."_

I woke up suddenly, coated with cold sweat and breathing heavily. I sat up and stared at the sparks that still filled the air, reflecting on what I'd just seen.

I hadn't experienced a vision for a long time and it felt odd to experience one again. Perhaps it was a sign that the shadows of the past were truly haunting me. I'd learnt numerous things from that vision. The man who'd attacked the Wizard's Guild and taken the God Rune, the man who'd hidden his facial features with a spell, the man with black, spiky hair, the very same man who'd saved the Wizard's Tower from destruction because of the artefacts that hid inside it... his name was Fiend. It sounded like a pseudonym that he used to protect his true identity, but it was still a name and it was still something to go by. I was shocked to hear that he'd killed James and taken Master Samuel's place and was now continuing with the potion. He seemed like a formidable opponent with great power if he was capable of robbing the Wizard's Guild. Greyzag was now the prisoner of this Fiend man. The conclusion I pulled from this was a frightening conclusion; my enemies were active again, and RuneScape was once again in danger.

The coming year was going to be an interesting year... that much I was certain of.

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><p><em>I hope that was to your liking. So we now know the name of our new antagonist... Fiend. What are your thoughtstheories on what Mainiac97 learnt in his vision? I'd love to hear your feedback._

_I am still open to names for Mainiac97's tinsel snake._

_Ah, 2011... what a strange year it has been in terms of writing this fanfiction. This time last year the first story had come to an end and I was wondering whether writing a sequel was wise. I started a poll on the subject and the results of the poll were promising; thank you to all who voted._ _I was reluctant to write the sequel because I simply wasn't feeling inspired to. I had ideas, don't get me wrong, but I just wasn't feeling inspired enough to put them on paper (or, in this case, type them out). I stalled the sequel massively, writing one-shots for 'The Adventure Through RuneScape: The One-shots'_ _as well as writing seasonal specials. Eventually, during the summer of 2011, I felt inspired and I decided to write the sequel_._ 10 chapters in and I'm glad I started writing it. 2012 will be an exciting year for this fanfiction, I can assure you that. Mainiac97 will see some old friends and may even_ _see some old enemies._ _There will be fighting, there will be romance, and the odd quest will probably be completed as well. Who knows? If things go exceedingly well, maybe we'll know a thing or two more about Mainiac97's past this time next year._ _Only time can tell. So, that's my paragraph on 2011. Happy New Year, guys._

_Next chapter... "The planning is finally complete," Aubury whis__pered. "We're ready."_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	11. Chapter 11: Operation Bug Crush

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Admittedly this chapter was a slight struggle to write, but I certainly enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 11: Operation Bug-Crush<span>_**

The tall creature towered above me, roaring its displeasure. It sent its large fist made from stone and lava bearing down upon me. I threw Silverlight into the creature's fist, and it stumbled backwards, screeching. It sent several ranged attacks in my direction and, being unable to dodge, I took the brunt of the attacks, groaning. The creature sent a final ranged attack in my direction, screeching triumphantly. I keeled over and I died painfully, slowly blacking out.

I appeared on the floor of the TzHaar caves, gasping for breath. I was helped up by the small TzHaar who manned the Fight Pits. He patted me on the back, making me hiss silently. "JalYt Mainiac97," he growled. "You did well. You earn 347 tokkul for your efforts." I thanked the TzHaar, took my tokkul, and left the TzHaar caves. I made my way to the village on Karamja to pick bananas, reflecting upon my battle. It had gone well for me and I was slowly but surely improving. I hoped to eventually conquer the challenge, defeat Jad and earn the respect of the TzHaar.

About a week had passed since the New Year and I was still shocked by its events. The Wizard's Tower had almost been destroyed by an imp and demon-summoning madman, and ironically, the very man who I feared the most at that moment had been the very man who'd saved the Wizard's Tower from destruction. Yes, it had been Fiend who'd saved the day. However, he'd done it only because he lusted after whatever artefacts the tower held that would be of value to him.

Sedridor was awfully frightened by the news. Although he was glad that Greyzag was a prisoner and would no longer be a threat to the Wizard's Tower, Fiend was an even bigger threat again and Sedridor saw the danger in the situation. Although the information would help him and the other wizards (who were trying to recover the God Rune), Sedridor was still unsettled.

I reflected on the alternative Wizard's Tower. Sedridor had destroyed the tower and closed the portal leading to it sooner than intended. I was sad to see it go; the party had been a very fun party and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Admittedly being bossed around by a pair of goblins hadn't been enjoyable, but at least I'd been rewarded for my efforts.

I'd been rewarded with a tinsel snake, which currently sat in my pet garden. I now had a name for the snake; I'd decided to call the snake Tiny Tinsel. I doubted that it would remain tiny for long, but I felt that the name suited the snake the best.

Eventually I arrived at the village, picked all the bananas that I wanted, and teleported to Lumbridge. I walked through Lumbridge and Draynor, stopping in front of the Wizard's Tower. I stared at it thoughtfully. I was nervous and I found myself constantly checking on the Wizard's Tower because I always worried that Fiend was attacking it. He had the God Rune; he couldn't be underestimated. Now the tower seemed safe, but it wouldn't be long before Fiend arrived, demanding his artefacts or whatever it was that he needed to continue brewing the horrific potion Master Samuel once brewed.

"Mainiac97!"" somebody called. I turned around, and I saw Capablanca running towards me, gasping for breath. "Aubury has been asking for you," he told me. "Apparently, something is ready." I frowned, trying to think about what Aubury could possibly want. Capablanca handed me a Varrock teleport tablet, pulled out another one, and used it himself. I snapped my own tablet, and I was whisked from the Wizard's Tower. I shuddered as I was crushed by the teleportation process. I appeared in Varrock, disorientated and bewildered. Capablanca tapped my shoulder, and I followed him to Aubury's shop, the base of the Glory Troopers.

When I entered, I found Aubury, the three Glory Trooper commanders (Haldir6, Haru and Creator), and several other miscellaneous Glory Troopers and white knights sitting around the kitchen table, looking sombre. When we walked in Aubury stood up, grinning.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "Sit down, Mainiac97. Thank you for fetching him, Capablanca. We'll commence with our meeting as soon as Osrie1 returns with Amy11." I sat down and we were all silent for about two minutes until Osrie1 walked in with Amy11 accompanying him. They both sat down after Aubury greeted Amy11 and thanked Osrie1 for fetching her.

"Now that everybody is here, we can begin. What I wanted to discuss was the operation. The planning is finally complete," Aubury whispered. "We're ready." There was a mixed reaction from everybody sitting around the table. Some people gasped, others clapped, while some (including myself and Osrie1) stared blankly at Aubury. "What I am talking about, of course, is Operation Bug-Crush." I finally understood why Aubury had organised the meeting at such short notice. Operation Bug-Crush was the operation that would be the end of the Demon Clan.

I remembered the Demon Clan clearly; the memories were sour and painful. They were a clan of people who rode strange, otherworldly objects (they claimed to be otherworldly themselves) called motorbikes and used different weapons and wore different colours of armour according to their clan name. They'd been wreaking havoc in Varrock for years now. The leader of the clan was the Black Fly; he was a cruel and ruthless man who wore black armour, rode a flat flying metal object called a sky-stick and used an electric sword (I didn't know what electric even meant, all I knew was that the weapon was more deadly because it was electric).

The Brown Beetle was the powerhouse of the team. His armour was brown (hence the name Brown Beetle) and he had no hands. Instead of hands, he had two large and lethal drills that he rotated at will and used to drill through ground and make surprise attacks from below. The Pink Butterfly was the beauty of the team. She wore pink armour, she used a flamethrower disguised as a stick of lipstick as her weapon, and she used large metal wings to fly. The Silver Wasp wore silver armour and used a poisoned javelin as a weapon; I thought she was the most insane, possibly even more insane than the Black Fly himself. The most recent addition to the Demon Clan was, of course, the Red Leech. He was a vampire (which gave him a scary amount of strength), he wore red armour and shot spikes from his arms, and he once had a twin who died at my own hands.

"I've been working carefully for a while now to try and find the Demon Clan," Aubury murmured, looking in the direction of the doorway cautiously as he did so. "A lot of preparations have gone into this operation, and now there is light at the end of the tunnel. We think we know where the Demon Clan are hiding after months of careful deliberation. We have plenty of reason to believe that they are hiding in a hidden cave on the outskirts of the Wilderness. We also have reason to believe that they are there right now. So, I've gathered you all together because I would like to attack the Demon Clan very soon.

"We have some very experienced fighters among us; Haru is a master of the axe, Creator is very good when leading raids, and Mainiac97 here defeated Master Samuel. I feel that, now that we are all together, we could be able to conquer the Demon Clan. We have the numbers, the strength, and the element of surprise. If we can capture at least one of them it would have been a worthwhile operation, because we could then question that member. Are we all in agreement that it would be wise to hold the raid today?" We all nodded. "What time should we do it? We'll all obviously need some preparation time to gather food, prepare weapons, etcetera." We discussed the time of the raid for a few minutes before all agreeing that we should meet back at the Glory Trooper base in 45 minutes. Aubury excused us and we all left, deep in our own individual thoughts.

I returned to my house and began gathering and preparing food, still deep in thought. The moment had arrived. The Demon Clan had been enemies of mine for years and years, even though I hadn't seen them for a long time. They terrorised Varrock and were a nuisance and a threat. Many had already lost their lives at the hands of the Demon Clan and I'd always fantasised about the day where they would receive their vengeance. They'd gotten away with horrific crimes previously; it wouldn't happen again. After about half an hour, I'd finished preparing all the food I'd need, so I polished my armour and sword and left.

I arrived back at the base, feeling nervous. Although I was eager to see the Demon Clan defeated, but at the same time they were formidable foes and it wouldn't be easy to defeat them. Eventually we all arrived, and we decided to set out, Aubury leading us.

We walked into the Wilderness and I instantly felt the warmth vanish from the air. The dust blew around our feet and the silence was a dead, dank silence that made me think of graveyards and rotting corpses. We hurried up, feeling uncomfortable. Aubury didn't lead us very far, thankfully. We stopped at a hole big enough for a man to crawl through (albeit with relative discomfort). He knelt down and wormed his way through the hole, gesturing for us to follow suit.

I wriggled my way through the hole and appeared on the other side, covered with dirt and feeling muddled. Aubury helped me up. I dusted myself off and examined my surroundings as the others crawled through the hole. I was in a tunnel of sorts. The tunnel was very dirty; touching the wall would result in a layer of dust attaching itself to my hand. A rancid smell filled the tunnel, making me shudder. Eventually everybody was in the tunnel and we continued, all thinking the same thing; why would the Demon Clan, such an advanced group, hide themselves away in a smelly cavern like this?

We kept walking and we found ourselves faced with a dead end. We all puzzled over this and Aubury began desperately reading over notes. I leant against the wall of the cave, growing increasingly frustrated. Had a mistake been made? Were we at the right place? Were we risking our lives over nothing? My fears were abated by the wall groaning slightly at my weight. I poked at it, unnerved, before something occurred to me. I took out my hammer and I tapped the wall firmly with it, and a small crack appeared. It wasn't a real wall, it was a convincing disguise! It occurred to me that the Demon Clan were all probably behind this wall and my heart skipped a beat.

I voiced my concerns quietly to my companions and we all decided to cast a spell at the wall or strike the wall on the count of three. Aubury held his fingers up and counted down from three. When his fingers were all down we simultaneously attacked the wall and it collapsed, revealing a relatively small cave that was hidden behind it.

An underground river ran right by the cave. The five members of the Demon Clan sat around the cave, doing different things. The Black Fly was sitting with the Silver Wasp, chatting animatedly. The Pink Butterfly hovered overhead, staring into space. The Brown Beetle was sitting on what seemed to be an oversized pillow, half-asleep, while the Red Leech was punching the wall nearby. When the wall collapsed they all spun around, seemingly shocked. There was a minute of stunned silence before the Black Fly let out a loud war-cry, threw a metal disc in the air which suddenly transformed into his sky-stick, and charged towards us. We all followed suit, bellowing.

The Brown Beetle dove into the floor and jumped up underneath Haldir6, who roared with rage and surprise and elbowed the Brown Beetle violently. We lost our first man sooner or later; a poor white knight had fallen at the hands of the Pink Butterfly and her fierce flame-throwing weapon.

The Silver Wasp targeted me. She sent her javelin flying towards my shoulder and I blocked the attack with equal vigour. She frowned slightly, taken aback by my increase in strength since our last encounter, but she shrugged it off and punched me in the gut. I groaned and keeled back, but I tried my best to ignore the pain and I jabbed her with Silverlight. She hissed and fell back, but she flew upwards and bore down on me, her eyes rolling madly. I was knocked to the floor, but I jumped up again, ready to duel. I threw Silverlight towards her but the attack glanced off her and she kicked me into a wall. I thumped her and she seemed injured by my attack. I sliced her wing and she collapsed on the floor, screaming. Creator took over, kicking her in between the shoulder blades and giving me a chance to escape the fight and recover.

I started chewing on a piece of meat, but just as I finished it the Red Leech picked me up by the throat and pinned me against the wall. I tried to struggle against the insatiable rage of the vampire but it was practically impossible. I could feel the rage emanating from his ice-cold skin. He rammed his fist into my chest, shattering two of my ribs and severely winding me. I head butted him in desperation and he stumbled backwards. I took advantage of his momentary weakness by wiggling from his vice-like grip and kicking him in the crotch. He fell backwards and was distracted by three Glory Troopers ganging up on him.

Haru started attacking the Brown Beetle and the battle grew ferocious as two unstoppable forces collided. The Brown Beetle spun around. He was trying his best to impale Haru, but Haru blocked all the attacks skilfully with his axe. The Brown Beetle grew increasingly frustrated, attacking faster and faster, looking more and more exhausted by the minute. Haru was patient, blocking masterfully yet never retaliating. Sooner or later Haru was ignoring holes in the Brown Beetle's defences that even I couldn't miss.

But then I saw exactly what Haru was trying to achieve. The Brown Beetle's attacks were growing sloppier as time passed and sooner or later he'd be incapable of holding up his defences, leaving Haru with an easy job. Haru eventually raised his axe and threw it down with one graceful swing. The Brown Beetle released a final scream before being sliced open and pinned against the wall by the axe. He gurgled noisily before dying with little dignity. I retched, feeling pleased but disgusted and almost guilty at the same time. Despite this, with one powerhouse of the Demon Clan gone, we'd easily be able to conquer them.

After scuffling very briefly with the Pink Butterfly, I glared in the Black Fly's direction. He was currently butchering a weaker Glory Trooper. He made eye contact with me and sniggered softly. After swiftly beheading the Glory Trooper, he flew towards me and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, taking me by surprise. He flew over the river and my heart sunk. My heart sunk even lower when I saw the Red Leech dive into the water and swim quickly after us, screeching.

The Black Fly let go of me and I grabbed onto his sky-stick as quickly as I could, dragging the metal contraption down. He tried shaking me off, but he didn't need to; the Red Leech had grabbed my foot and had yanked me off. I dropped into the water, struggling to stay afloat. The Red Leech threw himself from the water and landed painfully on me, resulting in me almost drowning. I sunk Silverlight into his flesh, momentarily distracting him and allowing me to swim to the surface.

The Black Fly lowered himself and waved his sword in my direction, trying his utmost not to touch the water with the sword. I didn't understand why. Would the sword break as a result or something? I leapt from the water and struck his sky-stick with Silverlight. He dropped suddenly and the sword struck the water.

Sparks flew left and right and I screamed as an odd pain filled my body, immobilising me. The Red Leech thrashed under the water as the same odd pain filled him. A small explosion ensued and the Black Fly was thrown into the ceiling. He floated downwards, cursing at me. I swam away desperately, trying to avoid his rage. It was in vain.

He flew downwards, sweeping me up and kicking me in mid-air. I hung onto his sky-stick, trying not to land in the water. I clambered onto the sky-stick, finding it impossibly difficult to maintain my balance. I shoved him and he lost his concentration. He stumbled slightly and the sky-stick spun around dangerously. I stuck Madrey1's sword through the sky-stick and it sputtered slightly, letting off copious amounts of smoke.

Roaring with displeasure, the Black Fly swung his sword in my direction. The sword seemed agitated by the water it had been in contact with earlier and it was crackling dangerously. I reeled out of the way and the sword nicked my arm. That same odd pain filled me again and I screeched. I slipped, but as I slipped I made an effort to stab the Black Fly's sky-stick again. If I could pull him off that wretched vehicle and rob him of his sword I could possibly defeat him or capture him. The water seemed to be making his sword more edgy, but he seemed reluctant to make the sword touch the water so I considered the possibility that the water was damaging the sword.

The sky-stick was malfunctioning; it was spiralling out of control. I landed with a splash in the water, and, in hopelessness, I threw myself from the water, grabbed onto the sky-stick (not an easy feat) and struck it a final time with the Black Fly still on it. A large explosion ensued, almost blowing apart the tunnel and throwing us into a nearby cavern.

I stood up, rubbing my head. I inspected my surroundings and I saw the Black Fly lying among the wreckage of his sky-stick, groaning. I quickly cast a spell on him to confuse him. I then cast the bind spell on him and pushed him out of the way. I sat down, chewing on some fish in my bag thoughtfully, trying to digest what had just happened in my head. I'd narrowly avoided death several times in the past ten minutes, and I was grateful for that, at the least. I found the whole thing to be terribly frightening; truly, my heart was pounding like a drum at that moment and adrenaline pulsed through my veins.

I was caught by surprise when a heavy force collided painfully with my back. I crumpled, yelling with pain. I almost blacked out before my attacker grabbed me by the hair and held me up. I saw that it was the Red Leech, who appeared very pleased with himself.

"Listen here, noob," he spat, his hot, putrid breath heavy with the scent of rotting meat. "I've been waiting years for the perfect opportunity to exact my revenge. The death of my twin was your fault, and now you will face the consequences for screwing with a vampire." With lightning-quick speed, he flung me upwards and kicked me while I was in mid-air. I collapsed to the ground, winded.

With a swift movement Silverlight was thrown several feet away, out of my reach. I scrambled around hopelessly and my hand came in contact with the hilt of the Black Fly's sword, which was still sizzling slightly. I waved that in the Red Leech's direction, nicking him slightly. He shuddered, screeching with anguish. I forced myself to my feet and, aiming precisely, I threw the sword javelin-fashion into the Red Leech's arm. He stumbled backwards, giving me time to recover Silverlight.

He pulled the sword from his arm, glaring at me. He prepared to pounce, but was distracted by the cave around us shuddering. The wall opposite us suddenly gave way, and two gigantic forms dragged themselves through the hole they created. I recognised them as three giants, covered with green moss and looking very displeased. The Red Leech and I forgot completely about our fight for a split second, making eye contact and thinking the same thing; we'd wound up in the depths of the Varrock sewers, very famous for being filled with ferocious creatures such as giants.

The giants stumbled towards us, roaring incomprehensible curses. I charged towards the one at the front and I stabbed the creature's knee with Silverlight. It screeched loudly and fell. The Red Leech pounced over me and crushed the giant's skull with one crippling blow. I finished the giant off with a swift uppercut using Silverlight. I was amazed; we were now co-operating to eliminate the threat of the giants when only minutes ago we'd been fighting to the death.

The death of the first giant enraged the two other giants. They threw themselves towards us, smashing us into the floor. I was almost literally flattened; it felt like my ribcage had caved in. I waved Silverlight vaguely in the direction of the giants, but I stabbed nothing. I pulled myself from the mass of limbs and moss, feeling disorientated. The giants pulled themselves upwards, holding none other than a struggling Red Leech in their arms. Victory was theirs. Grunting with what seemed to be amusement, they flung him into the wall opposite. They walked slowly towards him before pounding him into the wall.

I shuddered as I heard his screams of pain as he was practically reduced to a lump of undead, wrecked and battered flesh. It wasn't long before he stopped screaming and his form no longer looked human (although he technically wasn't human, he still held the form of a human). His terribly deformed body collapsed onto the floor before violently being ripped apart by the giants. They tried eating the flesh but they looked disgusted and stopped chewing on the Red Leech's meat. It occurred to me that vampire meat probably tasted disgusting to giants. A dented piece of his red armour rolled in my direction and I picked it up, conceding that I could present it to Aubury as evidence of the Red Leech's defeat.

The giants were just finishing their ripping apart of the Red Leech before I heard a strangled cry from behind me and I saw the Black Fly leap overhead, wielding his green sword. He'd regained consciousness and had broken from the bind spell he'd been trapped in previously. He'd obviously seen the Red Leech's defeat and was obviously very angry as a result. He hurled the sword through the heart of the second giant, killing it instantly. The third giant bore down on the Black Fly before almost having its leg amputated and stumbling away in defeat. The furious Black Fly turned to me. I went into a defensive stance, realising that now was the crucial moment and I needed to hold my own against the Black Fly if the operation was to finish successfully. It was time to crush the dominant bug.

The Black Fly bounded towards me, snarling. I bellowed a war-cry and unsheathed Madrey1's sword. Our swords clashed and the pure fury of two metal pieces clanged together to form an orchestra of rage and pain. I pushed as hard as I could towards the Black Fly, surprising him and almost completely shattering his defence. I pulled from the attack quickly and threw Madrey1's sword downward before the Black Fly could properly react. It collided with his shoulder, splitting his arm open and reducing him to tears. He didn't admit defeat, however; he reacted with an attack so strong and fuelled by venom it left a large dent in my armour and shocked me. The final confrontation followed. We wrestled and stabbed and generally battled with all our might, neither of us really going anywhere. Eventually we both collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

"Listen, kid," the Black Fly panted. "I can't really go any further, and to be honest, by the looks of it, neither can you. I refuse to admit defeat, so let's call it a stalemate and leave the fight for another time."

"I will never!" I breathed. "I came here to finish the Demon Clan, and I swear in Saradomin's name that I will!" The Black Fly grinned half-heartedly.

"It's a shame that faith never got people that far in this world," he chuckled, before pulling out a teleportation tab and vanishing before my very eyes, leaving behind nothing but his green sword. I laid there for a full minute before roaring with anguish. He'd slipped through our fingers. He'd escaped.

I picked up the Black Fly's sword and the shard of the Red Leech's armour and I walked down the ledge next to the river. We'd travelled quite a distance down the river during our fight on the Black Fly's sky-stick, but the walk back gave me plenty of time to reflect on what had just happened and recover from the fight.

I was generally stunned by how the fight had gone. The Red Leech had been destroyed in such a painful way, and despite him being a vampire, despite his wicked and corrupt personality, and despite myself, I felt a twinge of pity for him. He was only trying to avenge the death of his twin, very similar to how I wanted to avenge the death of Dream Decay when he died at the hands of Master Samuel. His attempts only sent him off to an awful doom. I felt guilty even though it wasn't really me that killed him, it was the giant. As I chewed thoughtfully on a meat sandwich I'd prepared earlier, it occurred to me that if I hadn't weakened him previously, he probably would have triumphed over the giant; he was obviously capable of doing so.

I thought about the Black Fly's escape. As dangerous as he was, he was in a very vulnerable position. He was stranded somewhere, weapon-less and without his clan behind his back. He was wanted by most large cities in RuneScape and would find finding shelter a difficult task. I hoped that he'd be captured very soon, to avoid the potential damage a madman of his type could cause.

I eventually arrived back at the Demon Clan's hideout cave and I found everybody except Aubury and Haru crowded around a certain spot and I could hear scuffling and cursing. Aubury and Haru were standing nearby, talking in very low voices. I approached them, and Aubury turned towards me, smiling brightly.

"It's good to see you," he muttered. "I thought you would have died, since you had the Black Fly and the Red Leech to deal with. You look exhausted and battle-worn. What happened?" I recounted the events of the past half an hour to an hour to Aubury, and he nodded sombrely at the end. "Meanwhile, over here, we've had a relatively easy time without the Red Leech tearing at our throats and the Black Fly hovering overhead," Aubury told me. "Right now practically the whole Operation Bug-Crush team are surrounding a very frustrated Pink Butterfly over there, trying to restrain her. The Silver Wasp put up a mighty struggle before fleeing, unfortunately. I'll have to alert the king so he can organise for wanted posters of the Silver Wasp and the Black Fly to be put up. The Demon Clan have practically been disbanded now, since they are definitely nowhere near as organised as they were and are now considerably weaker. I think their order was one of their key strengths. We can probably find the Black Fly and the Silver Wasp with ease; if not they will hopefully either disappear forever or do a Madrey1 and give themselves up. As for the Pink Butterfly, when she is captured we will imprison her and interrogate her; torture may or may not be used."

I watched on as the team successfully restrained, weakened and finally captured the Pink Butterfly. It had most definitely been an eventful day, and while I felt tired, slightly guilty and concerned about other things like Fiend, the defeat of the Demon Clan had succeeded in lifting my spirit and taking a massive weight off my shoulders.

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><p><em>...and that concludes chapter 11. My question to you is, do you think the Black Fly andor the Silver Wasp will be able to do anything (perhaps in retaliation)__, considering their current positions?__ It's defninitely some food for thought._

_Regrettably I will be unable to post anything for Valentine's Day, but I can assure you that some romance will be shooting your way soon.  
><em>

_Next chapter, Mainiac97 visits a seemingly innocent island with seemingly innocent people living on it... Also, next chapter I intend to launch a character competition which I will describe in detail next chapter_.

_Until next time, toodles!_


	12. Chapter 12: Entrana

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_...and here we have chapter 12! I hope you enjoy it. Some important announcements at the bottom.  
><em>

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 12: Entrana<strong>_

"So what do you know about this person who wants to meet us?" I asked; I was feeling slightly nonplussed, to say the least. Osrie1 and Amy11 both shrugged.

"All I know from this letter that was posted to me is that an old friend of ours wants to meet us on this monk island called Entrana," Osrie1 muttered, brandishing a piece of damp paper in my face. I turned my head and I stared thoughtfully out to the sea.

We were on a relatively small wooden boat that would take us to a reclusive island called Entrana, an island inhabited by monks. The boat was currently being driven by monks, kind, religious people that accepted us onto the boat with open arms. They wore either brown robes or white robes of fine silk and they wore metal Saradomin symbols around their necks. The only thing that annoyed me was the ridiculous policies of Entrana. The three of us (Osrie1, Amy11 and I) had been forced to remove our weapons before boarding the ship. Our weapons were currently nestled safe in our respective houses, but I still felt very bare without the comforting glow of the hilt of Silverlight reassuring me from my belt.

Osrie1 had received a very vague letter in the mail earlier from a person who called themselves 'an old friend'. It was unnerving, to say the least, and the fact that we weren't allowed to take weapons onto Entrana unnerved me even more. Perhaps it was paranoid of me to think so, but what if we were being lured into a trap of sorts? Still, the possibility of meeting an old friend was an exciting one, so I was more than eager to take the risk.

I'd heard a few different things about Entrana from different people. People had previous told me that Entrana was a beautiful place that I should definitely visit, while others had described the island and its inhabitants as boring and bland. I wasn't sure what the truth was, but I was going to find out soon enough.

I reflected briefly upon the events of the past week or so. There had been a period of celebration because the Demon Clan, for the most part, had been disbanded. The Silver Wasp and the Black Fly were still at large, but they were in a position of weakness at the moment. The Pink Butterfly was now under questioning. I wasn't aware of the techniques they were using to extract information from her, but they clearly weren't working because they were none the wiser about the Demon Clan's secrets.

We eventually arrived at the small docks of Entrana. We were greeted by three smiling monks, who ushered us from the boat and thanked us for our visit. I smiled politely back at them. It was a good start; that much was for certain.

I took in the sight of Entrana itself. Entrana was a relatively small island, but it was most definitely the most beautiful island I'd set eyes upon so far. The island was covered by lush green grass that spread out in all directions. Buildings, both large and small, dotted the island, some made from sturdy stone, others made from wood, and one gigantic building in the middle of the island made from brilliant marble. This place was clearly a religious place because of the churches, the clothes worn by the monks, and the general aura of peace that emanated from the island itself. Monks also dotted the island doing a variety of things, from meditating to chatting to farming. The far side of the island was craggy, with no buildings on it and nobody on it, apart from a monk in brown robes guarding a tunnel entrance and an oddly-coloured large bird standing on a craggy cliff.

"Welcome to Entrana!" a nearby monk boomed, taking me by surprise. "My name is Mazion, and I take care of our valued sandpit. This island is known as one of the holiest places in RuneScape in its entirety. Some even say that Saradomin himself set foot on this island once, many moons ago. This is why we ask that you don't bring weapons onto this island; we like to think that weapons of combat could affect the flow of peace on Entrana.

"As you may have noticed, Entrana is now inhabited by us monks, and we like to think that the peace the island brings us is helpful when it comes to studying, crafting and meditating. That building there is the grand cathedral of Entrana." He pointed in the direction of the large marble building. "The High Priest, our leader and a respected figure among Saradomin followers and monks across RuneScape, owns it. We like the craft of glass-blowing here, because the results are beautiful and it helps us focus our thoughts. Guests here are a rarity, so don't hesitate to approach any of us if there is anything we can do to make your visit a more comfortable one." I thanked Mazion, and left the docks, heading in the direction of the cathedral.

"This old friend of ours, did he specify when and where he wanted to meet us?" I asked Osrie1. Osrie1 shook his head in reply, reading over the letter once again.

"Not really," Osrie1 admitted. "However, he did say that he'd be here by mid-afternoon, and this island doesn't seem like a very popular tourist location, so we can assume that when he does arrive, we will know. In the meantime, we should probably do some exploring. We'll meet up afterwards in the cathedral, when our apparent friend arrives." I nodded in agreement, deciding to take a look at the great cathedral.

I nervously approached the large oak doors of the cathedral, and, almost as if they knew I was standing there, they swung open, granting me entry. I stepped inside, and the quiet that lingered over the island only seemed to deepen when inside. The first thing I noticed was the sheer size of the cathedral. I conceded that I could probably fling a stone across the cathedral and the stone would fail to reach the other side. Rows upon rows of polished oak chairs surrounded me, and a bookshelf filled with holy books, prayer books and scrolls towered above me on one side of the cathedral, putting the shelves in most libraries to shame.

The stained-glass windows surrounding me depicted iconic scenes in history, both the history of Saradomin and the history of Entrana itself. They lit the cathedral with a relaxing multi-coloured glow. The altar stood on the far side, surrounded by stone steps and guarded by golden statues. Two sets of stairs stood to my sides, leading to a balcony of even more chairs. A smaller set of stairs led to what I assumed to be another floor above the main body of the cathedral.

There were only two other people inside the cathedral, apart from myself. A monk sat nearby, reading and paying no attention to me. Another dark-skinned monk clad in brown robes stood by the altar, murmuring what I assumed to be prayers. I could tell that this man was the High Priest, for a multitude of reasons. For one, his holy symbol was considerably larger and glowed with a gleam unlike anything I'd ever seen before. He let off an aura of intelligence I could feel halfway across the large room. He wore a headband, and he seemed older than the other monks. He turned around, and gave me a polite wave, before returning to his prayers. I left the cathedral, feeling amazed.

I was dazed by the sheer beauty of the cathedral. It was truly one of the most beautiful buildings I'd ever had the fortune to see. It occurred to me that, very shortly afterwards, I would be meeting an old friend of mine in there. I both look forward to it and dreaded it. Could we really trust this person?

I approached the sandpit, feeling almost lost. I knew exactly where I was, but the sheer, overwhelming sense of tranquillity was something that I wasn't used to, something that confused me to no end. It was muddling me slightly; in a time of awful strife, how could such a place exist? I now understood and appreciated why the monks held the island with such high regard. It truly was a holy place.

I entered the glass-maker's shop, staring with wonder at all of the beautiful and glorious glass models that stood, shelved, all around me. The monk behind the counter shot me a polite smile. I smiled back, and left the shop. I saw Mazion the monk sitting down nearby, overlooking the sandpit. He stood up upon seeing me, grinning.

"I suppose you're here to learn a little bit about glass-blowing," he grinned. "I can do that. Glass-blowing is a fairly simple art when you become accustomed to it, but before you can go any further you need a glass-blowing pipe. You can buy one inside for 20gp." I entered the shop, handed the attendant 20gp, and took a glass-blowing pipe from a nearby crate. I exited the shop again, staring at Mazion expectantly. "To make molten glass, we need two things: seaweed and sand. Here, take this bucket." He offered me a bucket, which I accepted curiously. "Now fill that bucket with sand from the sandpit." I obliged, feeling slightly baffled. "Good. Now follow me." He walked in the direction of the sea and I followed him, feeling more bewildered than ever. He stood on the shoreline, bent down, and scooped up a large handful of seaweed. It then clicked; the island was ideal for making glass because of the large amount of seaweed one could assume would wash up regularly on the shores.

Mazion walked in a different direction and I followed him reluctantly. He walked into a building with a towering furnace taking up three-quarters of the room. A small open fire stood nearby, and Mazion reduced the seaweed to ash in the fire. "It's called soda ash," he told me. "Molten glass can only be made with soda ash as opposed to the raw seaweed itself." I nodded furiously, communicating my understanding clearly to him. He then poured the soda ash into the bucket of sand and mixed it together with his hand. He poured the contents of the bucket into the large ladle nearby and poked it into the furnace cautiously. After what seemed to be minutes upon minutes of poking, he withdrew the ladle, revealing the contents to me.

A white-hot mixture filled the ladle. "Pour that gently yet quickly into your pipe," he instructed. "Do not wait too long, or the glass will set and it will be a nightmare for us to remove the glass from the ladle." I nodded, took the ladle off him, and poured the glass into the pipe, making an effort not to let any drip out on the other side and making even more of an effort to refrain from letting it drip onto my hand. Once all of the glass was in the pipe, I stared at Mazion, awaiting further instruction. "Now blow into it," he commanded. "Be careful. Use the power of your blow to shape the glass as you desire. You cannot expect it to form a paticularly ornamental shape; you won't get anything much beyond spherical at your experience level and using only your glass-blowing pipe." I blew carefully into the pipe, trying not to burn my lips on the sweltering heat of the pipe itself. A bubble of molten glass appeared on the other side. I blew slowly and carefully, trying my utmost not to make a mistake. I blew until the glass was in a decent shape, then I ceased and let the glass cool. When it was reasonably cooled, I pulled it from the pipe, and I held a glass orb in my hand. Mazion nodded with approval.

"Here, take this," he said, offering me an oddly-shaped tool that looked like a knife without any sharp edges. "In future, when you are glass-blowing, use this to shape the glass as you are doing so without burning yourself. It's not the most professional tool; that much is true. Better ones are available, and you cannot hope to create a masterpiece with that. If you want to cut the still-soft glass to create shapes and whatnot, use this." He handed me an actual knife that looked like it had been designed for the purpose of cutting glass. "You're now ready to do some glass-blowing of your own." Mazion returned to his post by the sandpit, shooting me a polite grin as he did so.

As I blew some glass (trying and failing to create anything more than an orb, a fishbowl or a warped shape), something occurred to me. Glass-blowing was a repetitive craft that required utmost concentration and I found it a very relaxing activity that put me under no particular strain. It was one of the many things that made the monks peaceful people. It was probably excellent for their meditation, as the time it took to blow the glass probably allowed the monks to think and muse, perhaps over things that they were studying. _I would love to live in a place like this,_ I thought, sighing inwardly. Osrie1 ran frantically towards me, tearing my train of thought off course.

"Dude!" he yelled. "Our friend has arrived! I won't spoil the surprise for you. Just follow me." I obliged, putting away my tools and glass and following him, excitement sparking up within my stomach. We ran into the cathedral and we ran up the stairs leading to the above balcony. I saw two people sitting nearby. I recognised one of these people straight away as Amy11, but it took me a second to recognise the second person. When I eventually did, my jaw fell open.

Sitting there was Aaron.

Aaron had changed, that much was for certain. He was still rather tall and his skin was still naturally tanned, but his facial features had distorted slightly. His face now seemed wilder, more powerful, and more… wolf-like. _Go figure,_ I thought to myself, feeling slightly amused. His shoulders had broadened slightly and additional muscle that I didn't remember him having previously rippled under his skin. I noticed a lack of blade-on-a-chain weapon he usually had attached to his waist, but then I remembered Entrana's no-weapon policy. He walked towards me and pulled me into a crushing manly embrace. I embraced him back, almost feeling tears welling up in my eyes at seeing what most definitely an old friend.

"How are you, my friend?" I asked. "It's been years. How goes your werewolf training?" I clearly remembered the time when Aaron had to leave us; we'd just discovered that he was a werewolf after he transformed and killed Mort the vampire lord and Cedric the traitorous white knight commander.

"I am well, Mainiac97," Aaron replied, smiling. "I would have written a letter that was less vague if it weren't for my awful habit of wanting to keep the element of surprise. As a matter of fact, I am more than well, for I have completed my training in Catherby with my clan. I have now regained complete control of my transformations, although I have no idea why I lost control over my transformations in the first place." I scowled bitterly and I described to him the vision I had, all those years ago, when Master Samuel explained how he'd been trying to kill me. One of his evil attempts on my life involved playing with the transformation patterns of Aaron, in the hope that Aaron would kill me in his werewolf form. Despite the bitter tones in my voice, though, I couldn't help but express glee at Aaron's news.

"I suspected as much," Aaron growled. "Well, at least the vermin is dead now. That reminds me… I would ask you how you are, but I already know how you are. I must congratulate you on your victories, both recent and not-so-recent. You should be hailed a hero for slaying Master Samuel, and I must offer you congratulations for killing Count Draynor, killing Madrey1, finding the missing half of the Shield of Arrav, and succeeding to acquire some more legendary Bluerite swords for Sir Amik Varze." I thanked Aaron.

Our conversation continued on a very casual level. Aaron shared with us some interesting and/or amusing stories involving his training. It was a tough process that involved mental strength trials (including pain and combat trials), being locked up for copious amounts of time, and lessons on techniques on how to restrain oneself during the transformation process. We discussed with him some of our recent adventures, the TzHaar caves, our victory over the Demon Clan, and our fears involving Fiend. Aaron nodded seriously.

"Listen, guys," he said slowly. "I have a proposition for you. Catherby is a nice place, and there is plenty to see beyond Catherby. I'd also like to introduce you to my clan. So, I was wondering… do you want to accompany me to Catherby? Do you want to go questing again?" I turned to Osrie1 and Amy11, who both looked slightly taken aback but rather happy nevertheless. I discussed it briefly with them. Were we prepared to leave behind Port Sarim and travel RuneScape again? Did we have a responsibility to the people we wouldn't be seeing again for a while? After some discussion, we turned to Aaron again, and we nodded. Those few nods signified something bigger; those few nods signified the start of something new.

Looking overjoyed, Aaron began discussing times and dates for us leaving, and we eventually decided we would wait a week before meeting up outside the gates of Taverley to begin our travels. A week would give us some time to prepare, and Seer's Village was a stones-throw away from Catherby, giving us access to our houses. I was anxious yet excited. The prospect of exploring and questing as I did years ago filled me to the brim with anticipation.

Osrie1, Aaron and Amy11 left the building, still chatting contently. I hung behind, still musing about what had just happened. I eventually decided to leave, but just as I was about to leave the cathedral a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned around and I saw the High Priest staring at me. His eyes were rolling madly, and he seemed to be frothing slightly at the mouth. "Mainiac97," he croaked. "All may seem well, but danger lurks around every corner. Problems arise from the deep. A man inspired by gods, a fiend of a man, claims the black, bejewelled throne of the long-gone master. The darkness approaches, never-stopping, never-ceasing. A dazzling end I see, but I see it faintly. The shadows of the past return to haunt you; almost-forgotten friends reappear and old enemies fall to the grave. But they do not stop here. Beware the man of brown and green, heed the words of wise men, and finally… there is something on your back!"

I felt it again. That awful feeling, the feeling that I hoped I would never feel again. The heavy weight on my back… the terrible shuffling of an object I could not see… the incessant clicking… there was something on my back. I struggled with my senses for a good while before the sensations faded. I realised that my eyes had been screwed shut the whole time. I opened them slowly, only to notice that the High Priest was gone, and standing in his place was Ilookgood99, who seemed sombre.

"Mainiac97," he whispered. "It has been a while since we last met. The last time I saw you, I warned that everything was not over. The prophecy and predictions of the High Priest are meaningful; truly, the shadows of the past are back to haunt you. Remember that when you set out on your quest. Expect to see shadows of things that have already happened. My appearance today should be proof enough that the old evils that you thought were dead were only lurking and hiding. Fiend has arrived, the forces are regrouping, and the time I have been waiting so long for is nearing." With a puff of smoke, Ilookgood99 vanished, leaving me lost and confused, with an excess of food for thought.

As I walked down to the docks to meet Amy11, Osrie1 and Aaron, I considered what had just happened. I knew that danger was lurking, not only because the High Priest told me, but because I'd seen enough old enemies and old friends to know that ancient blood was stirring. The appearance of Madrey1… the speech of King David… the appearance of Fiend… they all meant something. Darkness was certainly approaching, and I didn't have a clue how I could combat it.

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><p><em>That concludes a rather curious chapter 12! My question to you is, what are your thoughts on Aaron's return and the quest our protagonists are about to set out on? What are your thoughts on the Priest's prediction? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Just a note also to say that I've written a one-shot describing an adventure of Aaron after the end of the first story but before this chapter, put into the one-shot story titled to 'The Adventure Through RuneScape: The One-Shots.'<br>_

_I organise my stories into sections named 'arcs', meaning a series of chapters that go under a certain titles, quite similar to the way TV shows are organised into seasons. This chapter marks the end of the first arc of 'The Adventure Through RuneScape 2: Darkness Approaches'! The first arc was aptly named 'Shadows of the Past.' This chapter marks the beginning of the second arc, 'Bloodthirsty.' The name of the arc itself should give you some decent food for thought!_

_I am now officially beginning a **character competition**!__ If you want to see a character of yours feature in this story or if you have any character ideas bubbling in the back of your head, this is a competition for you! You can submit to me character entries via review/PM, I will select my three favourites and they will feature in the story. When considering who to feature in my story, I will consider: description, personality, how interesting the character is, character history, originality,whether the submitter already has a character/characters in the story, and also what the character could add to the story.__ I look forward to seeing the entries. **The competition has now finished. Thanks to the four that submitted great entries!**  
><em>

_Next time... "We'll never get out of here," Amy11 sobbed, shivering slightly.  
><em>

_Until next time, toodles!_


	13. Chapter 13: White Wolf Mountain Part 1

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_A happy Easter 2012 to everyone. Hope you enjoyed. I apologise for not being able to write a 'proper' Easter chapter for you this Easter, based off any Jagex event; it, unfortunately, wasn't convenient__. Instead, I've based this chapter and the next chapter on Easter day. No events and rewards, however._

_Competition results in the author notes below._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 13: White Wolf Mountain Part 1<strong>_

_Where are they?_ I thought to myself impatiently. I was currently by the large stone wall that separated the Falador area from the Taverley area. I was waiting for Osrie1, Amy11 and Aaron to arrive. We'd planned to meet by the entrance to Taverley, and then we would travel to Catherby, where Aaron's werewolf tribe lived. However, to get to Catherby we would have to traverse the large, perilous and cold White Wolf Mountain, a mountain that was famous for being a deathtrap. I found it ironic that a clan of werewolves lived right next to a mountain that was named after the white wolves that lived on it.

Saying goodbye to my friends in Falador and Varrock was a difficult process, but they accepted why I wished to travel and they wished me the best of luck. I was feeling bored and I had an itch to go to new places, experience new sensations and defeat new foes. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to feel the tingling excitement of questing again. This opportunity offered me the chance to do all of those things.

I was anxious about meeting Aaron's clan. The little experience I'd had with werewolves had proven to me that they were powerful and dangerous in certain situations, and although I knew that friends of Aaron were also friends of mine, I still felt slightly uncomfortable, knowing that I would be spending time with people that were more than capable of crushing me.

I reflected briefly over the prophecy of the High Priest on Entrana. Some bits were more meaningful than others, while some bits merely confused me. I could only nurse suspicions and ideas; I knew nothing about the true nature of the prophecy, but it occurred to me that I would in good time. The object on my back was now giving me nightmares. I always had awful dreams involving me falling, me drowning, me suffocating, and in every dream I felt the awful object on my back. The incessant clicking and the odd weight would haunt me to my dying day.

Today was Easter, and I had several chocolate eggs stored in my house, ready for this evening, when we would have a celebratory feast, celebrating not just Easter, but also our (hopeful) success in crossing the dreaded White Wolf Mountain and arriving at Catherby. We'd debated the possibility of re-organizing our travelling date so we wouldn't have to traverse dangerous mountains on Easter, but we all agreed that it would be fruitless and the hike would make the evening feast all the more enjoyable.

I'd seen the Easter bunny already; I'd offered him some help, but he politely declined, thanking me for my generosity and offering me a few free Easter eggs to thank me for helping in previous years. I shuddered as memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, filled my mind. Easter reminded me of chocolate, buns and celebrations, but it reminded me of wicked wizards, power-hungry leprechauns and holly and hawthorn trees.

Eventually, Osrie1 arrived, his bag strapped to his back and a bottle full of water in his hand. He patted me on the back and we began chatting contentedly, chuckling and laughing at jokes that only we truly understood. Aaron soon arrived, his blade-on-a-chain weapon strapped to his waist. He joined the conversation and we reminisced over old and fond memories. Soon Amy11 arrived, and we were ready to go.

We entered Taverley and we surveyed the buildings around us curiously. They were odd buildings; they appeared to be made from the same materials as average cottages, yet they appeared stronger than average cottages, as if they'd been constructed with stronger materials that were more effective but still gave the outward appearance of a cottage. They were painted white, and druids clothed in white walked around. We passed a stone circle that seemed very similar to the stone circle near Varrock, except there were different runes and symbols carved on it, it was surrounded by druids, and it didn't strike fear into my heart. We walked through the relatively small village until we were standing in the fearsome shadow of White Wolf Mountain.

The mountain was taller than any other mountain I'd seen, including the mountain near Barbarian Village and the Karamja volcano. It was completely covered with snow and even the rock of the mountain itself seemed to be frozen to the core. Ominous sounds echoed around the mountain. We followed a foreboding path that trailed off in the distance. We passed a cliff of sorts, and towards the bottom of the cliff I could see sand and spiky rocks.

"Why don't we go this way?" I asked Aaron, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the cliff.

"That cliff is practically impossible to scale," he growled. "We, as a clan, can barely combat the cliff, even in our werewolf forms. Only people who have mastered the agility skill can manage to climb up or down that cliff without injuring themselves. You could try, but you'd potentially die trying. It's not a risk I would suggest taking. I'd be better for us to go through the mountain." I nodded, feeling very uneasy about trying to make our way through such a gigantic mountain that (as the name suggested) was the home to ferocious wolves. But I felt an odd sense of security when I was with Aaron, because I knew that he could transform and destroy enemies at will.

We began our trek across the White Wolf Mountain, all (apart from Aaron) feeling the same mutual anxiousness. A cold wind picked up and bean tearing at our bare hands and uncovered noses. We passed the occasional white wolf, and they sometimes growled angrily at us. We walked deeper and deeper into the wandering paths of the mountain, the wind blew harder and harder, and the snow fell thicker and thicker. Aaron, however, was clearly used to the environment, because he appeared utterly unfazed by the occasional wolf and the unpleasant weather.

We passed yet another white wolf (however, this one seemed larger, bulkier, and more ferocious) and, like we'd done with the previous wolves, we ignored it. This wolf, however, seemed considerably angrier than the other wolves we'd passed, and it snarled at us as we passed it. It pounced after us, causing us to react quickly and spin around, weapons in hand. The wolf snapped in Osrie1's direction, but he cast a water spell and the wolf was forced back several feet, yelping slightly. Amy11 stabbed the wolf in the back with her dagger. The wolf backed off from her, but was instead met with Aaron and his blade. Several slashes of the blade resulted in a very injured and upset wolf. I finally defeated the wolf with one strike of Silverlight. Feeling slightly deflated, we moved on.

"We'll never get out of here," Amy11 sobbed, shivering slightly.

"Yes, we will," Aaron groaned. "It seems like a never-ending trek, I understand that, but we will eventually get there, and it will be great when we get there."

After another twenty minute's worth of walking, we passed a decently large cave. The cave was pitch-black, as if merely looking at it would swallow one up for eternity. We heard a loud growl from inside the cave, a growl unlike any other we'd heard. Aaron sniffed the air suspiciously, growling quietly under his breath as well. We were rooted to the spot; we knew something unusual was happening. Several other growls joined the original growl, creating an awful orchestra of bloodlust and fear. It occurred to me that there must have been at least a dozen wolves hiding in the blanket of darkness the cave offered. The growling grew louder and louder, until all of the wolves were practically roaring simultaneously at us. They pranced from the cave slowly, glaring at us with watery eyes. They were the largest wolves we'd seen so far, and the one in the front was the largest of them all, with an astounding combat level of 104.

"I think this might be a clan of wolves," Aaron whispered. "The one in the front must be the dominant, alpha wolf. Perhaps we've angered them by killing the large wolf we killed earlier. Either way, I can tell that we're not going to be able to escape unscathed. There's no point in running; be prepared to fight." Aaron removed his bag and closed his eyes for a few seconds, before pouncing in the air. Fur burst from every pore of his body and his teeth transformed into fangs. When he landed, he was a fully transformed werewolf. He surveyed the wolves in front of us with a calm that I wouldn't expect him to have in his werewolf form. I felt intimidated by him, but I knew he was in control of his transformations. The clan of white wolves seemed to reel backwards in fright before gathering their wits and baring their teeth, snarling.

We charged towards the wolves, bellowing. The wolves pounced towards us with equal gusto. I collided painfully with a particular wolf, which almost succeeded in sinking its fangs into my side, leaving me with several small scars. Hissing slightly, I wrestled with the wolf for a while, trying my best to find a weakness in the beast's defenses so I could strike a killing blow. I stabbed the wolf in the neck with Silverlight, trying to regain my balance. The wolf howled with pain and rage, tiring considerably. This presented me with the opportunity to stand up and gather myself. The wolf swatted at me with as much energy as it could muster, losing cupfuls of blood by the second. It only took a few more gashes of Silverlight to end the wolf's life.

The battle continued for another fifteen or so minutes, and eventually there were only five or so wolves remaining. Osrie1 succeeded in killing yet another wolf. Meanwhile, Aaron was fighting the alpha wolf in his werewolf form, and it was a rather intense fight. We knew that Aaron was going to eventually win because he had the upper hand in all aspects, but the three other remaining wolves abandoned their fights with us, joined the fray and stacked the odds up against Aaron. He was on the verge of being overpowered and killed, so we joined together and fought against the alpha wolf and the three other wolves. Aaron gave us a bark of thanks and retreated temporarily to treat his wounds before they worsened.

We, as a trio, succeeded in holding our own in the fight, killing one of the wolves along the way. Aaron soon rejoined the battle, claiming the life of another wolf. The alpha wolf was now proving to be the only remaining serious problem, so Aaron targeted the other wolf so it would no longer prove an inconvenience.

The alpha wolf succeeded in finding a loophole in our defenses, biting Osrie1 violently on the arm and causing him to yell in alarm, rendering him incapacitated. The wolf then proceeded to chip away at us, forcing us backwards into the cave, where fighting was much more difficult due to the heavy darkness and sheer cold. I stepped backwards, and found my foot going through thin air. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I'd just stepped into a hole. I tried regaining my balance, but it was a feeble attempt. Amy11, the wolf and I fell into the hole, plunging into seemingly eternal darkness and screaming in vain for help that was never going to come.

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><p><em>..and so concludes the first of two White Wolf Mountain<em>_ chapters. My question to you is, what do you think will come of Mainiac, Amy and the alpha wolf falling into the hole? I'd love to hear your thoughts!_

_The competition. I recieved four great entries in total, but I did say that only three would be chosen, so I had to eliminate one choice. So, in no particular order, the chosen characters are:_

_Orion (by Lasair97)_

_Lilith (by Ohfortheloveofpete)_

_Drake Fortune (by Snowskeeper)_

_Thanks to the four who did submit characters. The other character that was submitted to me was submitted to me by Ninjamouse1, but, despite how excellent the character was and how much the character would contribute to the story, I didn't choose to include that character because Ninjamouse1 already has one brilliant character in the story, whereas Lasair97, Ohfortheloveofpete and Snowskeeper do not have any characters in the story.  
><em>

_Next chapter... unpleasant circumstances can sometimes cause pleasant things._

_Until next time, toodles!  
><em>


	14. Chapter 14: White Wolf Mountain Part 2

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_First thing's first, I need to apologise for the very large delay. I've been very busy recently, and only now can I find the time to upload chapters. It probably would have been more polite for me to announce a brief hiatus, and I'm sorry for that. However, I have a stretch of time ahead of me to do some writing, so expect to see some more regular updates coming soon! I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
><em>

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 14: White Wolf Mountain Part 2<strong>_

I sat up, groaning, feeling battered and weak. I felt around me and I felt an odd mixture of things; I felt fur, stone, water and even skin. We'd obviously landed on something large and soft that had cushioned our landing. Bewildered, I felt the furry object and I discovered, with a pang of shock, that we'd landed on the alpha wolf. The wolf was not breathing, so the blow must have killed it.

"Mainiac97?" I heard Amy11 breathe. "Are you okay?" I reassured her that I was fine, and I shared with her my discovery. She seemed as surprised and partially relieved as me. I was happy to hear that she was okay and hadn't been harmed by the fall.

"Take my hand," I whispered. She complied, and we helped each other up, supporting each other. We moved around to try and get some bearings of our surroundings. It then occurred to me that I had runes in my bag and I could create a fire. I rummaged in my bags and found some logs and the runes necessary to cast a fire spell. Feeling around for a patch of relatively dry stone, I laid the logs down and I cast the spell on the logs, creating a reasonably small fire; it was enough to light up the surrounding area to a degree.

We were in a cramped and wet cave that had collapsed on one side. It appeared that the cave-in had occurred in/over the only reasonable exit, so we were trapped. The hulking, motionless form of the alpha wolf lay nearby, and looking up we could see the hole we'd fallen through. Amy11 and I looked at each other nervously; we'd both reached the same conclusion.

"How much do you have in the way of food?" I asked shakily. "I have some food, but I brought only enough to sustain one to two people for a brief trip like the trip through the White Wolf Mountain. I didn't recognise the dangers of pitfalls like the one we just fell in."

"I don't have much food," Amy11 murmured, obviously slightly shaken by the sudden change of events. "It looks like we're going to have to prepare for a long stay. It's a disgusting idea, and the very feminine side of me reels from it, but perhaps we should use the fur from that big wolf to keep us warm. Maybe we could try building and sustaining a bigger fire to keep us warm, but it's so damp here that it would be a difficult task. We just need to make the most of an admittedly awful situation."

After a moment of silence and reflection we decided to commence in the dissecting of the wolf. Using our weapons, we made several carefully-placed incisions in the wolf and we proceeded in removing the wolf's innards. Some of the meat was edible. I doubted it would be delicious, but it was meat and it would be edible and would sustain us. We piled the bones up in a corner and we removed useless bits. Retching slightly, we completely gutted the wolf, separating the useful from the useless and putting aside the useless. We used some of the water surrounding us in puddles to clean the fur of blood and any remaining insides.

We sat as close to the fire as we could, trying to dry the furs and keep ourselves warm. There was about half-an-hour's worth of comfortable, thoughtful and mutual silence. It was eventually broken by Amy11.

"Do you think there's any way we could escape from here?" she asked.

"Perhaps," I pondered. "If we could scale the cave, we could perhaps crawl through the hole at the top, but considering the distance we fell, it'd take an enormously difficult climb to reach the top. We must be in the very core of the White Wolf Mountain, so I doubt screaming for help would be very useful. We could try shifting some of those rocks that appears to be blocking he exit, but it would be a long and arduous task and there are so many rocks I'm not sure how much time it would take."

"I suppose that, if we want to leave his place unscathed, it's our only alternative," she pointed out.

"Unless we decide that we like it here and decide to stay," I joked. "We could start a civilization under here."

"How would that work? Perhaps it would work if we had a tree that continued growing food," she said sarcastically. "Besides, how could we start a civilization with just the two of us? We'd have to…" She then blushed and trailed off, and an awkward silence followed as we both realised what she'd just suggested.

"So," I said, taking it upon myself to change the subject and to veer the conversation in less awkward directions. "If we ever escape this place, how do you imagine Catherby? How do you feel about the werewolves?"

"I've always heard that Catherby is a very localised and beach-based place with excellent weather, so I'm excited in that respect," she explained. "The idea of mixing with werewolves intimidates me, but then again I do suppose that it wouldn't be a problem if they're anything like Aaron."

"The way that Aaron has spoken of them and the training makes me think that they're well-controlled and we'd be safe with them," I said thoughtfully.

"I don't think any problems would reside with the werewolves themselves," Amy11 mused. "I'd imagine a werewolf clan would have some enemies. Well, we know that Aaron would have enemies, considering that he killed a respectable vampire leader. If we were to have problems, I imagine that they'd reside in the fights the werewolves would get into." I nodded in agreement.

"What sort of enemies would werewolves have?" I pondered. "I mean, werewolves are powerful forces to be reckoned with. Who would be strong and/or brave enough to make enemies with werewolves?"

"Perhaps equally powerful foes, such as other werewolves," Amy11 said. "There might be another clan living nearby. Perhaps there are clans everywhere that avoid our attention. Perhaps we've been living near werewolves all along."

"That would be shocking," I chuckled. "The thought makes my stomach squirm."

"Me too," Amy11 agreed. "Perhaps there's a secret society that we're unaware of. Perhaps the same proves true for vampires also."

"Now that thought shocks me even more," I laughed.

The conversation continued in a similar fashion for almost an hour, and I delighted in it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd spoken to Amy11 for such a long time. We both grew hungry and decided to gather the meat of the alpha wolf to cook. I cast another two spells on the fire so it would continue burning, and we proceeded in our attempts to cook the meat. We spoke some more as the meat cooked and we ate the food itself in a comfortable silence, content in each other's company. We conceded afterwards that the food wasn't delicious at all, but it didn't matter. We talked for a long time before settling down and sleeping.

I was the first to wake up. Yawning and stretching, I stood up and winced. My back ached slightly; sleeping on solid rock with only wolf furs serving as cushioning wasn't a very comfortable experience, to say the least. The fire was extinguished, so I took it upon myself to fetch some more logs and to rekindle the fire with the help of my tinderbox and magic. I sat by it and I warmed my hands.

I turned to the sleeping form of Amy11, admiring her beauty in the least creepy way possible. Amy11 was truly beautiful, especially when asleep. Her blonde hair lay comfortably around her face, completely unaffected by the surroundings and the atmosphere. Her skin was smooth and her expression was one of almost angelic tranquillity. I'd always had feelings for Amy11, and I'd grown ever-closer to her, and I'd always admired her beauty, but I now felt even more attached to her. She stirred and her eyes opened. I swivelled around, blushing slightly.

She greeted me with a peck on the cheek, something she hadn't done for a while. We silently ate a breakfast of leftover wolf's meat and we discussed what we should spend the time doing. We decided that it would be wise to try and shift the rocks.

We spent many hours trying to move the large boulders. We did succeed in shifting some of them, although it was a trying task that left us exhausted. We used magic to shift some of the rocks for a while, before pulling some more food from our bag.

After eating some food we tried to shift some more rocks before we eventually conceded that the task was too difficult to currently pursue and that we'd be wasting time and energy trying to persevere. Absolutely exhausted from what felt like a day's worth of work, we settled down and began chatting animatedly.

"I wonder what our friends are doing right now," Amy11 sighed.

"Hopefully they're looking for us, or perhaps they're looking for someone to help," I suggested. "I mean, that's what I'd be doing if any of them were in this situation." Amy11 nodded.

"If they're not looking for us, or if they are looking for us but they're doing it unsuccessfully, we're probably doomed," she groaned. "It'll take ages to move these rocks without additional help." She looked upwards in the direction of the hole we'd fallen through. "Is there any way we can get through there without having to scale it?" she pondered. "Can we use magic to levitate up there?"

"I don't think so," I admitted. "It would take quite a few runes to levitate that sort of distance, and I don't think either of us have that many runes. We've used quite a bit trying to shift those rocks. The incantation would be pretty complicated... we can't afford to made ridiculous mistakes now. Besides, neither of us have the magic experience to cast it anyway. When I had the God Rune, I had to levitate over Falador. The God Rune gave me the rune magic, the knowledge, the experience and the energy necessary to cast that sort of spell. I can't remember the incantation or anything else involving what had to be done to cast the spell."

"That was quite a battle," Amy11 said, smiling bitterly. "There was so much war... so much bloodshed... it would never end. It was like a sea... a sea of sorrow. The battling must have lasted hours upon hours... I hurt so much that day... and it was all because of Master Samuel." She scowled suddenly. "That scumbag almost took everything I cared about from me that day," she growled. "He would have gone further than Falador and my parents probably wouldn't have survived. I'm glad he received his comeuppance that day because of you." I nodded in agreement, blushing slightly when she mentioned my victory.

"Fiend has taken Master Samuel's legacy and seems more than capable of handling it. We don't know what he will do... it scares me. I have nightmares merely thinking about it," I shared with her worriedly. "He really puts our other enemies into perspective. I mean, Madrey1 would never succeed to rob the Wizard's Guild without the God Rune, but Fiend did. Heck, I don't even think the Demon Clan would have a chance."

"You mentioning Madrey1 reminds me of something," she chuckled. "The first time I met you was when you saved me from Madrey1, who was being a brute and was trying to take me away. You threw his helmet in the river, if I recall correctly." I burst out laughing as I thought about Madrey1's helmet floating in the River Lum. "The first time you met me was the first time you saved me from trouble," Amy11 said slowly, edging closer to me. She took my hand and squeezed it, and a shiver ran down my spine as her skin came into contact with mine. My heart accelerated as she looked into my eyes, a smile playing on her lips.

"It's always been my pleasure," I said slowly, spreading every syllable out. "I'm positive that you'll return the favour one day." Time felt like it was slowing down; every moment seemed to drag as I stared into the deepness of her blue eyes.

I felt myself growing warm as time passed. She stared into my eyes unwaveringly, almost as if she was posing me a challenge of some sorts. The air grew thick with tension as we both waited to see who would make the first move. I longed so badly to tell her how I'd been feeling for all these years. I was positive she returned my feelings, and I grew more and more certain of that as we continued holding our eye contact. After all of the monsters and foes I'd defeated, I still hadn't developed the nerve just to share my feelings with Amy11. It wasn't hard; talking to her was almost as easy as talking to Osrie1, or Capablanca, or any of my other male friends. Why was I now struggling? Surely telling her the truth would remove a weight, relieve the tension and cause no lasting harm? We seemed to be growing closer. I steeled myself; I knew that it was now or never.

"Amy11," I said. "We've known each other for years upon years. We've been the best of friends. We've shared many moments, regardless of whether they were during battles, during meals, or simply during conversations, either in a group of people or just the two of us. But there's something that I've held inside without truly releasing. Perhaps my outward expressions have given you reason to believe things, but I've never told you what I've been harbouring.

"Amy11… you are the most beautiful person I know. I'm not putting you alongside the other good-looking women I've met; I am telling you that you are literally _the_ most beautiful person I know. Even now, when you've been sleeping in a cold, dark, dank cave, sleeping in dirty wolf-skins and working perpetually for hours upon hours… you are still beautiful. Your dazzling blue eyes are enchanting and simply holding eye contact with you for the past few minutes has put me in a trance not even the God Rune is capable of putting me in. Your hair shines like the sun and your figure could attract even the truly well-controlled men.

"You are not just a beautiful person with regards to your outward appearance… you have a personality of gold. As I've previously said, I've known you for years, and after getting to know you and travelling with you, I can honestly say that you have the most beautiful personality. Those rare moments we used to share... I savoured them when they came. That moment in the New Year's Eve party, when we kissed… that made me realise the true extent of my feelings. That moment, in the gardens of Falador… these are my feelings for you.

"I am not a scholar. I am not knowledgeable. I can't understand the complex nature of magic… heck, I hardly understand the more basic nature of magic. I am not a bard who understands the concept of love and can write pieces based on that same understanding. But I can say that, as far as I am concerned, this is love. I think I love you, Amy11, and I've kept it to myself for far too long."

I finished talking and I watched her expectantly, trying to gauge her reaction. She seemed to consider something for half a minute before finally coming to a conclusion.

"Mainiac97…" she breathed. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me that. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Thank you, Mainiac97, for putting my fears to rest. I love you as well, Mainiac97. I have for a long time… and, if the past is anything to go by, I will continue to love you for a long time." There was a stunned and momentary silence before we both bent forward and our lips met.

This kiss was very different to the other kisses we had shared. This kiss has a feeling of certainty in it, something which almost strengthened the passion of the kiss. A sense of unity was prevalent as we both shared and enjoyed the moment. There was nothing to interrupt us this time, no giant moles, no Demon Clan, no Madrey1, absolutely nothing.

We separated, breathing heavily. I stared into her eyes again, but this time there was heartfelt affection and passion in the eye contact. I was elated and euphoric; even the damp closeness of our little prison couldn't bring me down. We kissed again and fell asleep together, embracing each other as we did so. I sank into a treasure trove of pleasant dreams as I slept with nothing on my mind except the thought of Amy11's warmth in my arms.

We were awoken by what sounded like a muffled crumbling noise. I stared around me for a second, confused, before remembering what had occurred before our sleep and moving forward to embrace Amy11 again. She giggled, and we were about to kiss before the muffled crumbling noise happened again. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the cave-in. We ran towards the rocks and we could faintly hear voices. We yelled for help. The voices faltered and we could hear the crumbling of more rocks.

We began investing all of our energy into shifting as much rock as we could by magical means. The more rocks we cleared, the clearer the voices became, until we could distinguish part of what they were saying. My eyes widened as I realised that there were people on the other side of the cave-in. They widened even more as I realised that these people were saying our names! We worked away tirelessly until we could hear what was being said a bit clearer.

"Is anyone there?" the familiar voice of Osrie1 shouted.

"We're here, Osrie1!" we shouted. "We're behind the rocks!"

"There's still quite a bit of rock left to move," Osrie1 told us. "Aaron's going to call for help." A howl filled the air; it was so loud that we could very clearly hear it behind the cave-in. We continued working for a bit longer, working at a slower rate so we could reserve our energy. We suddenly heard what sounded like a strangled cry of victory before something large and heavy hit the other side of the cave-in with a dull thud. The thudding repeated until I realised that the majority of the rocks must have gone. With a final yell, I cast a spell at the top of the cave-in which created a small opening. We heard a final thud before the whole cave-in collapsed and we could walk through.

We saw Osrie1, looking dishevelled and tired but still very pleased to see us. We saw Aaron in his werewolf form; he was distinguishable because of his brown fur. But there was another werewolf there; a massive, bulking, black werewolf stood there, staring at us with very cold eyes. This werewolf was much bigger than Aaron, something which almost scared me. Aaron bounded forward and began licking us, panting with what seemed like joy. I stepped forward and gave Osrie1 a manly embrace.

"They can't transform back into humans here, because they aren't wearing any clothes and would be naked upon transforming back," Osrie1 told us, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "The black werewolf there is called Harry, and he is the leader of the clan. He'll tell you more about himself and the clan another time. When we lost you, we spent quite some time looking for another way to reach you, before we decided to go to Catherby; thanks to Aaron's smelling skills we were able to find you, but the problem resided in moving the rocks to get to you. The cave-in had swallowed up half of the tunnel, so, even with the help of werewolves it took time to get to you. Why, you were so far down, it would be too risky to try and follow you down, and when we yelled for you, you couldn't hear us. But you're free now, and that's all that matters at the moment."

"How long have we been gone?" I asked incredulously.

"About a day and a half to two whole days," Osrie1 told us seriously. "If it weren't for the help of the werewolves it'd be much longer." I nodded seriously. "But you must be exhausted. Let's get you back to Catherby." Amy11 and I gathered our things, and we left the accursed cave we'd been trapped in.

We walked along a system of tunnels, led by Harry, the apparent werewolf leader. A sudden wave of tiredness overcame me; we'd tired ourselves in our repetitive attempts to shift the rock. We finally left the caves and appeared somewhere in the White Wolf Mountain. Thankfully, we were relatively close to the entrance from the mountain into Catherby, so it took us no more than ten minutes before we arrived. Catherby's appearance barely registered with me, due to my enveloping exhaustion. I could see a beach, sea and houses. We were taken into a house and I was shown to a bed by Osrie1. I sank into the bed thankfully, preparing myself for a long rest filled with pleasant dreams.

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><p><em>...and that concludes chapter 14. What did you think of my stab at writing romance? Remember, I appreciate your feedback.<em>

_So, sorry again for the delay, and expect to see some new characters introduced next chapter!  
><em>

_Until next time, toodles!  
><em>


	15. Chapter 15: Catherby

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_So this summer has been busier than I anticipated, so not much writing done there. Never mind, I hope you all enjoyed your summers. Here is chapter 15, which serves as an introduction to Catherby, the werewolf clan, and more besides! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 15: Catherby<strong>_

I woke up groggily, surveying my surroundings curiously. I was in a very bare room with one bed, one chest of drawers, one window, one door and a small table in the corner. My bag sat on the table, waiting for me. I stood up and looked out the window. I saw nothing except for the wall of a neighbouring house. I picked up my bag and sat on the bed, reminiscing over the events of the cave.

I was downright lucky to be alive, that much I knew. Another few days and we would have run out of food and would be starving. There were so many rocks blocking the cave exit; if nobody had found us, we never would have escaped in time. I thanked my lucky stars that there were nearby werewolves that were ready to help us.

As unpleasant as the experience of being trapped in a cave was, I couldn't help but feel elated as I thought of my experience with Amy11. I was surprised I was able to muster the courage and the energy to express myself in such a fanciful manner, but I suppose that I'd known exactly what to say for years; I just needed the right moment to say it. Perhaps I had picked the perfect moment.

A spark of excitement flittered in my stomach as I thought of the moments to come. It had just occurred to me that we were in Catherby and our adventure was just beginning. I was looking forward to exploring the area, meeting the rest of the clan and maybe even completing a few quests. After all the recent worry involving the Demon Clan and the sudden appearance of Fiend, it was nice to have a little bit of escape, even though a near-disaster had occurred on my way here. I was prepared to overlook that, however.

I left the small room I'd been resting in and I walked into a kitchen/sitting room of sorts. There were three doors in this room; the one I'd just walked through, another open door to my left which led into another bare bedroom, and a door at the front of the house in front of me. Osrie1 was by a stove of sorts, cooking strips of meat. He smiled when he saw me.

"It's nice to see that you're still alive. I thought you'd never wake up," he joked. I walked up to him and patted him on the back, eyeing up the meat as I did so. "It's mid-afternoon and you've been sleeping for a while, although I can't really blame you for sleeping late, considering what you've just been through... or what you were unable to get through due to a cave-in blocking your way, I should say."

We chatted casually for quarter of an hour or so. I told him what had happened in the cave and he seemed amused when he heard that I'd told Amy11 how I felt, telling me that he'd been expecting it for a while. He seemed relieved when I told him that the alpha wolf didn't survive the fall. At that moment, a very tall man entered the house, attracting our attention.

This man had black hair which hung to his shoulders and steely blue eyes which bore into me. The man was hulking and intimidating; he didn't look like a person I wanted to mess with. He was taller and more muscled than Aaron, and his combat level was way above Aaron's. It was this fact which intimidated me more than anything.

"Hello," the man said in a very serious tone. "We've met previously. My name is Harry, and I am the leader of this clan. I am the leader because I am the oldest and the most experienced member of the family, apart from one uncle who has grown so old he cannot perform the way he once performed. We have met previously, although I was in a different form then and it was under very different circumstances. It is apparent that you've helped my brother, Aaron, previously. You are a friend of his; therefore, you are a friend of ours. Follow me. I will introduce you to some of my immediate family, although you are already acquainted with Aaron." He smiled wryly, before gesturing for me to follow him. "Osrie1, you should follow as well. I haven't introduced you properly to the others."

I followed him out of the simple house and onto the streets of Catherby. Catherby was a relatively simple town (if it could even be called a town; it was small enough to be called a village). A few rows of simple, yet colourful, seaside houses stood behind me; the one I'd just left was in the front row. Surrounding these houses was a relatively simple network of small streets and alleys. The sprawling sea sat in front of me, just asking to be admired. The soothing noise of crashing waves filled the sleepy streets of the small town, and the salty air was relaxing. To my left was a path which led down to a beach of sorts; the ominous shadow of the White Wolf Mountain loomed overhead, but I tried to ignore that. To my right was another path which trailed off into the distance; I assumed that it led to other towns.

"If your face is anything to go by, you quite like Catherby," Harry commented. "It is a very nice place for people like us to live, people who wish to stay out of the way. We, as a clan, aren't the biggest. The majority of us are family; the clan started with grandparents of ours, who were the leaders, who then passed their role as clan leaders onto their children, our parents. Our father was killed by werewolf hunters who see us as nothing more than beasts of Zamorak, while our mother died of old age. I was made the clan leader because I was the next oldest, apart from the previously-mentioned uncle who couldn't be the leader due to certain disabilities. Below me are my two brothers (one of which is Aaron) and my sister. Our extended family, cousins and such, are all fully-fledged members of the clan. We also accept other werewolves into the clan: people who have nowhere else to go, new werewolves who cannot control themselves, etcetera. I suppose I should show you around. Follow me." He took us down a street and stopped by a certain house. He knocked twice and Aaron answered. Aaron grinned upon seeing us and opened the door, inviting us in.

The house was distinctly similar to the house I'd woken up in, except this house seemed to have a more personal touch to it. Some comfortable rugs covered the floor; I felt a twinge of amusement as I saw that the rugs were, coincidently, the same colour as the fur of the white wolves. Amy11 was sitting on a bench next to another man I didn't recognise. However, I didn't give the man a second thought as Amy11 shot up and ran towards me, almost bowling me over in a tight hug. I returned the hug with similar enthusiasm, very glad to see her. Aaron chuckled softly.

"Let me introduce you to my other brother," Harry rumbled. "This is Hunter. Hunter, meet Mainiac97." Hunter stood up and shook my hand in a friendly but firm manner. "Hunter's real name is a complicated name which came from a different language, but it literally translated to mean 'the one who hunts inferior wolves,' hence his current name. My name is shortened as well; Aaron's name, however, hasn't changed at all."

"It's nice to meet you," Hunter said pleasantly. I inspected him a little closer. The first thing I noticed about Hunter was his unusual height; whilst Aaron and Harry were rather tall, Hunter was considerably shorter. His combat level was lower than that of the other werewolves, but I noticed the agility cape he wore, showcasing his level 99 in agility. Despite his height and his combat level, his muscles were very prominent. He looked like he could have very easily crushed my hand in our handshake. He had very short, stubbly, black hair, and deep-set brown eyes. A glittering dagger hung on a strap to his waist.

"You got any idea where Amelia has gone?" Harry asked Hunter.

"I think she's gone into the mountain to stretch her legs," Hunter replied in a deep, deep voice, the deepest I'd ever heard. Harry nodded and left the house, gesturing for Osrie1 and myself to follow him. We obliged, and Amy11 left with us.

"The last of the four of us is my sister Amelia," Harry explained as we walked. "She's not feminine at all; I think her growing up with three brothers has probably affected her in this way." He took us out of the system of streets, down a path and on to the beach which I'd seen earlier. He took us along the beach and to the foot of the ominous White Wolf Mountain. He asked us to stay where we were and he ran up the path to the mountain, past several boulders and around a corner, out of sight. We heard a loud howl, followed by a quieter howl which seemed to come from the distance. After a minute Harry returned, accompanied by a girl who didn't seem much older than me. I assumed that she was Amelia.

She held a very strong stance; she didn't seem like the pushover sort. Long, brown hair flowed graciously, and she had muddy-brown eyes, like her brother (Hunter). Despite her apparent strength, she still possessed great beauty. She exuded authority and what almost felt like masculinity. I supposed that this was a result of being raised with three brothers, just like Harry said. She didn't keep herself like most women. She didn't dress fancily, nor was she preened and perfumed to perfection. She held a hunk of meat in one hand and a wolf's head in the other, only increasing the aura of anti-feminism she had around her.

I turned to Osrie1 to measure his reaction, only to be faintly amused by the look on his face. He gleamed with admiration; he looked like he'd been dumbstruck by something exceedingly wonderful. A gormless grin spread across his face and his hands dangled by his sides, almost as if he was incapable of doing anything but appreciating the beauty that stood before him. Amelia walked towards us, smiling politely.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Amelia. It's nice to meet you. You're friends of Aaron, aren't you? What are your names?"

"Yes," I replied, smiling. "I'm Mainiac97." She seemed startled to hear my name and blanched for a split second before shaking her apparent shock away and regaining herself. Perturbed, I turned to Osrie1, expecting him to also introduce himself. Instead he gawped like a goldfish and remained silent. Only when I prodded him did he snap from his stupor and stutter his name. Amelia chuckled and shook our hands, almost making Osrie1 faint.

"We're going to visit Orion and do some introductions. You might want to come with us, Amelia; you know how... angry Orion can become," Harry said, making some odd gestures with his eyes that Amelia seemed to understand. The both of them gave me some curious looks. I looked back at them, nonplussed; my confusion was steadily increasing. Why were they being so edgy?

They took us to another house which was one of the closest to the beach. This house was smaller than the others and it felt much older. Harry knocked twice on the door. It opened, and we entered. I saw that this room was bare, with no furniture except for one chair, a longbow leaning against the wall and a cooking stove in the corner. A man sat in the chair. He was skinny and wiry, with a very shadowy complexion about him. He wore robes of black and red and he looked rugged, as if he'd been through a lot in his lifetime. Despite this, however, he appeared quite young. His auburn hair hung about his shoulders, greasy, unkempt and lank.

He inspected us suspiciously, and I saw a massive change come across his face as he laid eyes upon me. He snarled furiously, revealing yellowing teeth. He charged towards me, bellowing obscenities. Taken aback, I unsheathed Silverlight and went into a defensive stand, prepared to deflect attacks. Thankfully, I didn't have to fight; Harry and Amelia stepped forward and bore the brunt of his attack, forcing him backwards. He fell back into the chair, gasping and struggling with all his strength. Eventually he gave up and collapsed backwards, clearly exhausted.

"You must explain yourselves!" he roared, frightening me. "Why would you bring this slimy piece of filth in front of me when you know how strongly I despise him? It is indeed well known among the werewolves that I would rip his head from the remainder of his weak body and impale it on a pole to display." I felt a flicker of anger upon hearing his words. How dare he speak of me in such a harsh and demeaning fashion! What grounds did he have to hate me with such a passion? I was very tempted to challenge him, to defend my honour. It was very rare for something to rile me up so much. I stepped forward and Harry held out a hand in a cautioning manner.

"Orion, as you well know, this is Mainiac97," Harry growled menacingly. He was obviously trying to intimidate the man I now knew as Orion. He was certainly succeeding. "This constant grudge that you've been holding must end, because Mainiac97 is travelling and will be spending a lot of time here. We need to fix broken ties and resolve issues. Do you want me to explain the context to him or will you?" Orion proceeded to spit by my feet, cackling madly. Harry cracked his knuckles, silencing him instantly. "I guess I'll be doing the explaining.

"As you probably already know, this is Orion," Harry explained, gesturing to the very irritated man in the chair. "I think the statement I'm about to make will probably explain a lot within itself; Orion was raised by... Master Samuel." Shock flooded my system and my fists balled. Anybody associated with that maniac was bad news. Harry gave me a cautioning look, and I forced myself to calm down. "He was born in a small village which was burnt to the ground when he was a child. Master Samuel, in his early years, saved him from the fire. His parents, however, perished." This sentence seemed to aggravate Orion even more; I honestly couldn't blame him. If somebody mentioned the death of any parents of mine in such matter-of-fact way, it'd inspire emotion within me as well. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry seemed unfazed. I found this cold aspect of his personality quite intimidating. "Master Samuel continued to raise him in his fragile state. Orion was indoctrinated during his growing up and coming of age; Master Samuel trained him as a warrior and an assassin, teaching him many dark spells and secrets."

"He was a father to me, even more so than my own parents," Orion spat venomously, obviously unable to contain himself any further. "What you say is true in its rawest form, but do not speak of him like a dictator and a tyrant. He was a powerful man, a mentor." I shuddered.

"You said it yourself, he influenced you awfully," Harry snapped. "You cannot escape the fact that he was an evil man and did some awful things." Orion looked like he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue reluctantly. "Anyway, Orion has a very useful set of skills at his dispense. He worked in Master Samuel's army as an assassin and a leader. He was there in the battle at Falador and he witnessed you defeat Master Samuel in battle. As you can imagine, this infuriated him, and this is why he hates you so." Orion winced slightly, his hands twitching with what was either rage or anticipation.

"Obviously he escaped the battle. He proceeded to travel the lands after his recovery, searching for sanctuary and work. He happened across a gang of Master Samuel's old warriors and servants. He joined them, but they continuously taunted him for being what they saw as Master Samuel's pet and favourite. They told him that it was Master Samuel that caused the fire that killed his parents."

"I killed those hypocrites," Orion hissed, catching us by surprise. "They were no true servants. They tortured me mentally; they were constantly reminding me of what I denied but knew was true deep down. I don't know if it was jealousy that inspired them, or if they were generally spiteful. After killing them, I went downhill." His head drooped, and I felt a twinge of pity for him. "I became dependant on alcohol to help me escape my misery. The man who I respected and practically worshipped was a murderous and manipulative monster. I still respect him, although my respect is unfounded because there was no justice in what he did. It took me a long time to come to terms with it. The werewolves found me in my drunken state and took me in. They were well aware of the situation surrounding Master Samuel. We eventually came to an agreement; they'd offer me shelter, food, protection and support if I helped them with my skills."

"What sort of skills? You mentioned your assassination and sneaking skills, but what else? What did Master Samuel teach you?" I enquired, trying to be polite, despite the bubble of discomfort and anger welling up within me. He swung around, grinding his teeth.

"I may not appear powerful or charismatic," he snarled. "But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. We're supposed to get along, but, even though I see Master Samuel's true self and the error of my ways, I despise you and don't feel like mixing with you. I suggest you leave me alone, or I'll kill you." Stung by his sharp words, I shot him a filthy look and left, the others following me. Harry spoke quietly to Orion before also leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Why do I have to try and get along with him?" I groaned. "He obviously doesn't like me, and I haven't exactly taken a shine to him either. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"We can see something in him that others have failed to see before," Harry rumbled. "Not only are his abilities valuable to us, but there is more to him than that. Hopefully, by reconciling with who he regards as his worst enemy, he will open up his shell and can be restored into normal society. We want to do this because he is a recluse who seems to have forgotten the joys of socialising and company with other people."

"As werewolves, we feel an obligation to accept the lost and the rejected; Orion is both. We (including you) can help him," Amelia added. I understood what they said but I didn't really accept it; I didn't have the guts to tell them as much.

The two werewolves excused themselves and went to walk away. I stopped Harry very suddenly. "I have a question to ask you, something that's been on the back of my mind for a while," I said slowly. "Don't your clothes ever rip if you transform suddenly? How can you transform back into a human without being naked?" Harry chuckled.

"It was an issue," Amelia laughed. "We used to take our clothes off before transforming and keep them in a sack which would tie to either one of our legs or our underbelly while we were in our werewolf forms. Once we transformed back, we'd put our clothes back on. If we transformed suddenly, there'd be nothing to do about it."

"That's right, sister," Harry snorted. "It would be quite a pain. But Orion's arrival was very handy. Master Samuel, as part of his grandmaster plan, intended on raising an army of werewolves to dominate the tougher regions. He made a spell to cast on clothes which would allow you to transform with the clothes so they'd be part of you as a werewolf; when you transformed back, they'd still be on you and intact. He taught this spell to Orion, who now uses it on our clothes. It's temporary. He has to keep reapplying the spell."

"So you'd be werewolves wearing clothes?" I asked, slightly confused. I had an image in my head of a snarling werewolf wearing trousers. Harry keeled over in mirth.

"No, no," he laughed. "It's weird; the clothes would be a part of you, as far as the transformation was concerned. The reason why I would've been naked if I'd transformed back when I saved you is because the spell had run out on my clothes at the time." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the streets. "These streets are handy because, in darkness, we can sneak into the alleys in either of our forms without being seen and losing our dignity. Anyway, that's enough talking about clothes. We've got to go. It's been nice meeting you, Mainiac97 and Osrie1." Amelia repeated that sentiment and they both left the three of us.

"You've fallen pretty hard for her, haven't you?" I chuckled, seeing Osrie1's dazed expression. He nodded vaguely, not really concentrating on anything in particular. He walked in the direction of the beach. I took Amy11's arm and we went for a walk, exploring the area.

We passed the long pier and an unusually large bank with a massive clock overhead the door. We walked on a larger path, which took us into what appeared to be a market. Upon closer inspection, I realised that it was a farmer's market. Salesmen selling fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds, farming tools, compost and some other things dotted the circular market which acted like a town square of sorts. Beyond that was a stretch of flat land devoted to farming. People clustered around farming patches, growing a collection of different plants. A row of compost bins stood beyond that, and the tool leprechaun walked about, tending to the needs of the busy farmers.

Today had been an interesting day. I'd met Aaron's instant family; that amounted to Hunter, Amelia and, of course, Harry. They were all very strong and intimidating in numerous respects; I felt very small stood next to them. That feeling only intensified when they were in their noble werewolf forms. I knew that I'd be safe during my stay at Catherby. The only thing that concerned me at the moment, apart from the obvious things, was Orion. He had a passionate dislike for me, and I felt like I was going to have a fight every time he was around. I now understood why Amelia and Harry were so edgy before our visit to Orion. He didn't appear that strong, but I didn't know what sort of things Master Samuel had passed on to him. The very association with the tyrant made me cringe. I hoped that I wouldn't have any unfavourable run-ins with him again. Apart from that, Catherby was a lovely place, and I felt that my stay would be eventful, if not pleasant.

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><p><em>...and that concludes chapter 15. What are your opinions on the werewolves? Do you think Orion will be a potential threat? Credit goes to Lasair97 for the brilliant character of Orion. He was one of the winners of the competition. The other two winners will be seen in the foreseeable future.<em>

_Thanks to all who gave feedback on my stab at romantic writing in my previous chapter. I appreciate it and I will use it to improve my writing in the future._

_To celebrate the release of Taken 2, I've slipped a sly Taken reference in the chapter. Can you spot it?_

_A quick announcement: I now have a Twitter account! Follow Twitter username 'Mainiac97' for news and updates on my stories, thoughts, anecdotes, etc. If you don't have an account and have no intention of making one, why not go check it out anyway?_

_Next chapter, we see Mainiac97 do a spot of adjusting and a spot of what can only be described as extreme fishing._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	16. Chapter 16: Fishing for Sharks

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 16: Fishing for Sharks<strong>_

"Mainiac97!" Farmer Fred cried across the market. I turned around and strolled towards him after spotting him, grinning widely. We shook hands vigorously. "How are things? What brings you to Catherby?"

"I'm just exploring," I replied pleasantly. I almost mentioned the werewolves that lived here, but I bit my tongue and refrained from saying anything about them. "Just moving around, keeping active, and seeing a bit more of the land. What about you?"

"I'm staying here for a week or so," he told me. "I have a lot of wares to sell, so I figured that I'd come here and take advantage of the market instead of selling them the way I normally would. Would you like to buy any watermelon, by any chance? It's fresh, ripe and cheap." I agreed to buy a watermelon to support an old friend.

"How are things back in Lumbridge?" I asked casually.

"They're okay," Farmer Fred sighed. "There's one massive controversy happening in the Wizard's Tower. I don't know exactly what's happened, but they almost seem as if they're prepared for an attack. The amount of wizards on patrol is ridiculous." He looked at me suspiciously. "You always seem to be in the know involving bad things that happen nowadays. Do you, by any chance, know what's going on?" I nodded sombrely, telling him the skin and bones of the events, being very selective of what I told him about the New Year's Day attack, the kidnapping of Greyzag, and Fiend. I didn't want to stir fear before anything massive happened. "That's unfortunate," he said sadly, and I nodded in agreement. "It's rather worrying that somebody as menacing as you describe is so interested in the Wizard's Tower. I'm sure they keep many things that could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

At that moment, the market fell into eerie silence. We were torn from our conversation by curiosity. All eyes seemed focused on one man, who strolled through the market with an aura of certainty and confidence.

The man seemed relatively young, judging by his stature. He was unnaturally pale, as if he hadn't seen sunlight for days. He wore leather equipment, and the large red-and-black quiver on his back suggested that ranging was his preferred method of fighting. He had a long, intricately-braided dark-red ponytail which went to the small of his back. He had a tattoo above his left eye, a tattoo which both frightened and fascinated me; it was a tattoo of the symbol of Zamorak. As he passed me, he hesitated and stared at me with grey eyes that were reminiscent of storms and disasters. He then scowled, huffed, and walked swiftly away. After a minute of silence, chatter returned to the market.

"Who was that?" I asked shakily, perturbed by the events that had just occurred.

"I heard about him," Farmer Fred muttered darkly. "When I was drinking in the local inn, I heard tales of his antics. Zamorakian scum." Farmer Fred spat on the floor, surprising me. "People like him do this world no good. That was Drake Fortune. He's a famous hunter who's very handy with a bow and arrow. He does tours in the ogre area and that. But it's not that which makes him famous really. He's famous because he believes in Zamorak, but isn't the sort to go joining Master Samuel or any of them. He thinks that Master Samuel's doin' it wrong. He's all against Saradominists who say that Zamorak is all evil. He says that there's no good or evil god and he's different, but he causes all fights and stuff so I reckon they're all the same inside. You see how he looked at you? Can't be good." I nodded slowly, seeing how strongly Farmer Fred felt about the situation and deciding against pursuing the subject. I figured that this Drake Fortune looked at me sourly because of the way I made Zamorakians look and what I'd done against their image, based on what Farmer Fred had just said. A customer approached Farmer Fred and I excused myself, deciding to do a spot of fishing.

I fetched my lobster pot from my bag and walked towards the beach. I sat down and joined the other fishermen. I was able to fish for lobsters, and while it was repetitive work, it was potentially relaxing and certainly worthwhile. As the water slipped in and out of my pot, I let it soothe me and let my train of thought take me elsewhere.

I reflected briefly over the revelation of Drake Fortune. My first instinct told me to fear and dislike him due to his religious alignment and the way he was, but I realised that my fear was possibly unreasonable. After all, the only reason he had negative connotations was because of how I associated Zamorak with Master Samuel. It occurred to me that Drake Fortune disagreed with Master Samuel, if what Farmer Fred told me was true. It would be short-minded of me to think that, just because he followed Zamorak, he was automatically evil. It made me consider the greater implications, whether what Saradominists preached was bordering on propaganda. If my experience spoke for anything, even the most heinous of people could do some surprising acts of honesty. I decided that, regardless of where Drake Fortune stood or what Zamorak's true nature was, it didn't change the threatening nature of Fiend and Master Samuel's legacy.

All the talk of evil and Zamorakians made me think back to the prophecy of the High Priest on Entrana. It was twisting my brain like a sponge. It, frankly, scared me. It was foreboding and it spoke of worrying things to come. The reappearance of Ilookgood99 and the curious object on my back was enough to spin me into a frenzy of concern.

_A man inspired by gods, a fiend of a man, claims the black, bejewelled throne of the long-gone master. _After thinking about it for a copious amount of time, I decided that the "fiend of a man" was a reference to Fiend. Perhaps the "long-gone master" was, in fact, Master Samuel. It would make sense to think that the prophet was referring to Fiend taking Master Samuel's place for whatever reason.

_The shadows of the past return to haunt you; almost-forgotten friends reappear and old enemies fall to the grave. _That bit felt very relevant to my current situation. Plenty of things from my past were returning to haunt me. Ever since the return of Madrey1, things had been coming back from my past in succession, one after another. The stealing of the God Rune, the speech of King David, the defeat of the Demon Clan, the return of Aaron, all topped off by the reappearance of Ilookgood99 and the prophecy itself. I didn't feel very secure. Despite the passing of time, nothing felt safe. Despite my relaxation, a small part of me felt tense, expecting something tragic to happen at any given moment.

As I thought about the passing of time, I thought briefly about the recent exploration of Catherby. Some time had passed since the events on the White Wolf Mountain; days had slipped into weeks and weeks had slowly slipped into months. The summer was passing by too quickly for my liking. I enjoyed the atmosphere on Catherby very much, but I had no intention of settling there, so I made an effort to explore the surrounding area. I'd been exploring Seer's Village; it was the place I went to regularly to teleport to my house, so I saw it practically on a daily basis. I'd also been exploring the vast greenery surrounding Catherby (trying hard not to venture too far without my companions) and the few caves around the beach (which were surprisingly long and deep, and usually led into the mountain). I made one journey back into the mountain itself since the fiasco; I decided that I disliked it.

As my bag steadily filled with raw lobsters, I decided to bank them, where they'd be safe until I transferred them to my larder in my house. I entered the bank, pressed my PIN number in, and opened up my bank. As I deposited my fish, I noticed a colourful advertisement on the wall. It seemed to advertise something called the 'Squeal of Fortune' and it encouraged people to enquire about it. The picture underneath depicted a smiling goblin holding bags of what appeared to be money. I turned to the man behind the protective glass, giving him a puzzled look and gesturing towards the poster. Before I could say anything, he smiled warmly and proceeded to explain.

"The Squeal of Fortune is a new feature the bank have now implemented," he informed me. "That goblin is its mascot. In every bank across RuneScape, we now have a portal which will take users of the bank to a massive wheel. Ours is just by the door there, slightly out of the way." I turned around and noticed the portal, which people were occasionally entering. "If you pull a lever, it will spin the wheel and reward you with whatever prize the wheel lands on. It could be anything, from something as trivial as a cabbage to something as massive as two million GP." My heart skipped a beat and my already-large interest in this thing intensified. "You must be a user of the bank to use it. We've started it because of an idea by the rising King David. It's done in the hopes that more people come and use the bank, because apparently a surprising amount of people aren't using it and are endangering their money and their possessions. You get one spin of the wheel a day, except on special occasions and any times where you might have spin tickets." I thanked the member of staff for clearing that up with me and I closed my bank account. I walked to the portal and entered it.

After gritting my teeth through the uncomfortable process of teleportation, I appeared in a white-tiled room which was wide and tall. The reason for its wideness and tallness was to accommodate the massive object which stood on the other side of the room. The object was a large circle. The circle had numerous coloured sections, with pictures of different objects accompanied by some writing inside each section. A golden arrow stood underneath it, pointing upwards. A golden lever stood several feet in front of the circle.

A man dressed in a comical goblin outfit stood next to the lever. "Welcome to the Squeal of Fortune," he greeted. "Put your hands on the lever." I did so; the lever didn't budge. Suddenly, my name appeared on the floor in front of the circle. Underneath it was the number one; I assumed that this was meant to represent the amount of spins I had left. A plate appeared by my hands with numbers on it. "Enter your PIN number, and you should be then allowed to use your one spin," he clarified. I obliged, and suddenly the lever felt much looser.

Holding my breath, I gave the lever an almighty pull. The circle began spinning rapidly. As it steadily slowed, my heart started racing as I anticipated where it would stop and what I would win. It finally stopped, and the arrow was pointing at a picture of an experience lamp, with the writing '2000 experience' underneath. "Congratulations!" the man in the goblin suit exclaimed. "Would you like your reward now, or would you like it to be put in your bank?" I told the man that I would like to have the lamp in my bank to accompany the rest of my lamps. "Very well," he said. "Come back again tomorrow or later today if you acquire a spin ticket." I thanked the man and left using the portal.

I left the bank and returned to my spot at the beach, slightly amused by the events of the past ten minutes. The Squeal of Fortune was a good idea (despite King David, who I was suspicious of, being the one who gave birth to it) and I'd earned an experience lamp from it, which was definitely a good thing. I found the whole thing very curious but very worthwhile.

"How's it going?" somebody behind me said, taking me from my thoughts. I turned around to see the smiling face of Aaron. I stood up and shook his hand vigorously.

"I'm okay," I told him. "How are you?"

"Not bad," he said. "I've been doing some difficult exercises in the mountains today, and now I'm going to do some shark fishing with the others. Just waiting for them to finish now."

"Have you ever heard of Drake Fortune before?" I asked. Aaron nodded slowly.

"Indeed I have," he sighed. "A lot of people in this area think a lot of different things about him. He's an open Zamorakian with some powerful skills. He preaches for Zamorak but against Master Samuel. He makes his living hunting now, doesn't he?" I shrugged nonchalantly.

"A Lumbridge farmer that I know called Farmer Fred thinks he's like any other Zamorakian," I pointed out. "What do you think of that?"

"If Farmer Fred's a simple Lumbridge farmer, as you say, he wouldn't have much experience with Zamorak and wouldn't have a wide range of understanding on the topic," Aaron replied. He very suddenly lowered his voice. "As werewolves we are, apparently, creatures of Zamorak," Aaron whispered. "But, as you know, our association with Zamorak doesn't make us evil, does it? Or at least we're not evil when we're in control of our actions. I mean, is Zamorak even evil? I know Master Samuel is evil and all, but is he only misinterpreting what Zamorak stands for?" I nodded, chewing over the food for thought Aaron had just given me.

Our conversation was cut short by Harry, Hunter and Amelia walking up to us. "Are you ready?" Harry said to Aaron. Aaron nodded in affirmative. "Then let's go." They walked the length of the beach and into the mouth of a cave on the far side. They didn't walk very far into the cave; they took one sharp right onto a part of the cave which jutted out into the sea, away from the eyes of the other fishermen. I expected them to have harpoons, but, to my surprise, they had no fishing utensils.

Harry appeared to notice the frown that I wore, and he chuckled. "We don't fish for sharks conventionally," he explained. "Harpoons and barbarian methods are good and all, but there's nothing more effective than brute strength." My frown deepened. "This is a lovely hidden pocket of Catherby for us," he elaborated. "This little opening to the sea is roomy, hidden from sight (so we don't have to worry about any prying eyes) and occupied by plenty of fish. You see, instead of letting the fish come to us, we go down to the fish. It's more strenuous, but it's more rewarding and doesn't require the normal essential fishing skill, only strength. Our fishing skills aren't high enough to catch sharks conventionally, but we're very strong in our wolf forms, which is enough."

"So you swim to the depths of the sea and actually fight the sharks, or whatever else, to catch them?" I asked incredulously. Harry nodded. "How are you able to breathe?"

"We can hold our breath for a longer time in our werewolf forms," Hunter told me. "But Orion has taught us how to cast a spell which can help us breathe underwater. It's only a change in how to cast a more basic air spell. It doesn't need a high magic level. That's useful because none of us have ever bothered much with magic. Even though we can breathe for longer underwater, we still like to use this spell, just be on the safe side. It creates a bubble of air around our faces which only lasts twenty minutes or something like that. We'll know when the spell is running out in good time." That explanation seemed satisfactory, although Orion's involvement made me uneasy.

Aaron stepped forward and asked to borrow some of my runes, seeing as none of the werewolves had any on them. I gave him the relevant runes, and he cast the mentioned spell on everyone. "Do you want to come with us?" Aaron asked. I thought about it briefly before nodding, deciding that it would be fun and adventurous. He cast the spell and looked at my clothes. "You'll probably have to strip down a bit. You can put your bag in that crevice, nobody will find it there." Not sure what he was referring to, I handed him my bag, and he put it into a nearby crack in the wall, out of sight. "We made that," he grinned. "We'd slip any of our stuff in there if we ever went fishing for sharks, if you can even call it fishing."

As the four werewolves spaced out and prepared to transform, I stripped down to my underwear, feeling very self-conscious in front of Amelia. She, however, seemed oblivious. After a moment's waiting, all four werewolves transformed. It was a truly terrifying sight and I felt like running and fleeing. The only thing keeping me rooted to the spot was the knowledge that they weren't going to hurt me. This was one of the most extraordinary things I'd seen; I found one werewolf transforming intimidating enough, let alone four of them.

When all four of them were fully transformed, I felt very small and insignificant in their shadows. I noticed that they were trying to stay as quiet as possible, obviously trying not to attract unwanted attention from the people fishing on the beach. I recognised Aaron because of his brown fur and I also recognised Harry because he had black fur and was larger than the others. Amelia had fur which was brown, like Aaron's, but was sleeker, shorter and lighter. Hunter was slightly petite compared to the others, but looked much springier than them. His fur was wispy and a very light black, verging on grey. They all panted cheerfully before diving, one after the other, in the waters. I hesitated momentarily before bracing myself and joining them.

As I slipped into the water, my body went into momentary shock due to how surprisingly cold it was. After my body had adjusted to the cold, I dived under the water and saw the werewolves nearby. They all began swimming downwards in formation. I swam after them as fast as I could.

My ability to breathe underwater was peculiar. I could feel the water surrounding my face, but I could still breathe clearly through it. There was no evident bubble of air around my head, but I could still feel some sort of breeze against my cheeks, despite the volume of water. It still made me uncomfortable knowing that a spell taught by somebody who hated me so was the very spell that was keeping me alive.

I found myself lagging behind the others, growing tired. It was only to be expected; after all, they were mighty werewolves. Aaron turned around, swam back to me and held me, swimming forward with me. I gave him a thankful pat on the arm. We eventually stopped at a certain level, and I was now noticing schools of fish passing us. Hunter bit a nearby school of fish playfully, alarming and scattering them.

Eventually we passed our first shark. It wasn't as big or scary as I expected a shark to be, but it was still significantly bigger than other fishes, hence the additional fishing experience needed to catch it. I tried communicating with the others, but, because of the water, I failed to communicate fluently. Harry made a gesture towards the shark to the others and he bolted forwards. The shark was startled and tried fleeing, but it wasn't fast enough for the blindingly-fast werewolf. Harry grabbed the fish with his claws and dug his fangs into the flesh of the fish. It struggled for a while before growing limp in Harry's arms. Harry held it up, an obvious air of victory around him.

I spotted another passing shark and I gestured to Aaron that I wanted to try catching it. He nodded in affirmative and he flung me in the general direction of the shark. I torpedoed towards the fish and I grabbed its tail. It flailed wildly, catching me by surprise and throwing me around. I tried crawling up the body of the fish, but to no avail. Eventually it succeeded in sliding from my grip. I grabbed it again before it could swim away so it turned around and nipped me in self-defence before fleeing as quickly as it could. I floated there, feeling slightly deflated and exasperated.

We swam around for a minute or so before coming across three sharks swimming close to each other. Amelia and Hunter both dived towards the same shark, catching it by surprise and rendering it completely hopeless. Aaron took on the other shark, dominating it very swiftly. I was left to try and capture the remaining shark. I decided that holding on to its tail gave it a chance of escape. I settled with grabbing it further up its body this time. I held onto its body for dear life. Surprised, it swam away, struggling to carry my weight. It eventually grew tired, letting me wrestle it and hit it until it was too weak to struggle.

I swam away with the weak shark under my arm. It was too heavy for me, so I let Aaron take it off my hands. He killed it quickly so it wouldn't try and move at all. I felt that this trip was obsolete; I wasn't strong enough to manage it successfully and it was only because of the werewolves that I'd gotten to where I was.

We noticed a shark leaving a nearby cavern and Harry pointed to the cavern. He entered and we followed. The cavern went on for a distance. It wasn't wide but there were several sharks. Harry eyed the sharks up greedily and prepared for trying to capture one. He was distracted by a distant rumble. We stared around us uncomfortably as sections of the cave collapsed. I saw a glint of red in the distance, a glint of red which made me feel an overwhelming sense of foreboding. Something was causing a disturbance in the waters and causing nearby sharks and other fish to flee. I noticed that the glint of red seemed to be coming closer; something dangerous was fast approaching.

Hunter began making frantic motions to leave the cave. Had he realised what the approaching object was? We all seemed to be in agreement that it was time to leave, but it was too late do anything about it. I realised that the thing that was going towards us, the thing that had been causing the disturbance, was a shark. This shark was much larger than any other I'd seen; I'd go as far as to say it was almost as large as one of the werewolves. It was moving wildly, breaking the stone around it in its haste. I couldn't tell what an angry shark was supposed to look like, but if I had to make a guess, I'd guess that it would look like this. Its teeth looked sharp enough to cut through rock. It wasn't the size, or the spasms, or even the speed of the shark which scared me. It was the red eyes, eyes which reminded me of the awful things of my past, of rats and dragons, of robes and rage, of Master Samuel; this shark was possessed and very dangerous. I was, to be frank, terrified out of my mind.

The distressed shark collided violently with Harry, smashing him into the cave wall. He made a muffled noise of pain and mauled the shark. The shark spun around madly, battering him with its powerful tail. Harry was pinned against the cave wall by all of this furious power. After a brief struggle, Harry dislodged himself and gnashed his teeth furiously. He ripped a hunk of flesh from the shark, who thrashed about, infuriated. He opened his mouth wide and closed his almighty jaw on Harry's arm. I heard what sounded like a snapping noise and Harry let off what was supposed to be a bellow but was muffled by the water. He floated downwards, struggling to stay in control of himself. I was mortified by the happenings; Harry was injured, not because of any weakness, but because of the lack of space around us and how taken aback we all were by the shark.

Amelia made a move to help Harry, but she was distracted by the shark. While she struggled against the sheer force of the possessed creature, Hunter helped Harry out of the cave and out of harm's way. I felt absolutely useless. I was in no position to fight something so massive. I now wished that I'd brought a water-friendly weapon with me, like a harpoon, or a cheap, light sword that would be disposable (so rust wouldn't be a concern).

I held onto the shark's tail in a brave but foolish move. It distracted the shark, giving Amelia a chance to maul the monster's eye. The shark spun around wildly, giving the both of us the chance to escape the cave. The shark soon chased us, swimming in a slightly lopsided fashion due to its impaired sight. It could clearly sense us, though, because it directed itself upon us. Amelia was the unfortunate victim; the shark snapped at her viciously.

She was having great difficulty trying to get away from the shark. I realised that we wouldn't be able to escape it, so I needed some sort of weapon. Perhaps a piece of jagged rock would suffice? I looked around desperately and eventually found a suitably sharp rock. Removing it, I stabbed the shark, trying to cut it as much as possible. Fish blood floated eerily from the wound, and the shark seemed too focused to be fazed. Instead, it whipped its tail around, knocking me sideways and almost concussing me. I felt my breath grow strained and ragged; the spell was fading and we didn't have much time.

I persisted until I caught the shark in its sensitive gill. It turned its attention to me, mouth opening. Horrified, I tried slipping away from the jaws of the shark, but to no avail. It forced itself forward and I was forced into the awkward position of trying to force its jaws open to prevent myself from becoming shark food.

Thankfully, I avoided the razor-sharp teeth. I now had a front-row view of the brute's mouth. It looked disgusting; I was retching. I was in a dangerous and vulnerable position; the fact that it was possessed only served to heighten my fear. In a very sudden reaction, I threw my jagged stone into the throat of the shark. It jerked around very suddenly. My strength failed me and I let go, screwing my eyes shut and preparing myself for an untimely death. It never came. I opened one eye reluctantly to see the shark tossing around, clearly distracted and irritated by the stone wedged in its throat. Relief flooded my system as I saw Amelia grab it by its tail and, with every morsel of her strength, swing it into the stone wall. I spotted Hunter swim upwards after tending to Harry's wounds; he joined her in her attempts at clobbering the savage shark.

After they'd considerably weakened the floundering shark to a point of overpowering it, Hunter grabbed its tail and Amelia grabbed its jaw. I could already foresee what they were about to do. Grimacing, I watched as the two mighty werewolves pulled the two ends of the shark. Eventually, the flesh of the shark ripped and they tore it completely in half. Its lower half floated downwards to the bottom of the sea, while its upper half remained in Amelia's hands. Shark blood clouded the water around us, making me feel like I was swimming in a sea of blood. As disgusting as the sight was, I couldn't help but feel relieved; the battle was finally over.

Hunter pointed to his neck and then pointed upwards. I understood what he was trying to say and nodded in agreement. Hunter dived downwards and helped Harry up. We began swimming upwards. Amelia held the upper half of the shark, which contained its jaw and all of its teeth. I lagged behind a lot and the others reached the surface way before me. Despite this, I eventually reached the top and I climbed back into the cave, gasping. I was aching all over, I was suffering from shock, but I was grateful to be alive and well. I looked back at the sea, clouded with the blood of the shark. I decided that I didn't want to go back there any time soon.

"That… was… horrible!" Hunter exclaimed, having transformed back into his human self. "I don't ever want to do that again if I can avoid it." The others, back in their human forms, nodded in agreement. Harry looked especially drained. His arm was limp, bruised and bleeding. It would definitely need treatment. "We've lost all of our catches, but at least we're all alive and okay-ish. Let's go show this baby to the rest." He pointed vaguely to the shark head. The werewolves thanked me for joining them and left with the shark head. Hunter, before leaving, removed a few of the shark's teeth and offered them to me. I accepted them, staring at them with a mixture of fascination and revulsion.

I took my shirt and used it to dry myself. I was, imaginably, very shaken after the events. While their method of shark-fishing was interesting, I never imagined that it would be so dangerous. I conceded that it was only dangerous because of that big shark. They probably never saw anything like that. I felt very useless down there because I definitely couldn't compete with the power of a werewolf, so I was unable to do things as quickly and as effectively as them. I had no idea why they thanked me for being there; I was a hindrance to them, if anything.

_That's the first time in a long time I've seen any possessed creatures,_ I thought worriedly to myself. It was probably one of the biggest shadows of the past yet, and it signified awful, dreadful, scary things to come. Where did it come from? Was it a result of Fiend's magic? If so, why was he targeting me and/or the werewolves? Did it mean that he was active? Did it connect at all to the prophecy on Entrana? I'd thought so much about things relating to Zamorak as a result of seeing Drake Fortune; the fresh concern was just too much for me. I'd need to go to sleep very early tonight.

Today had been very eventful, that much I was certain of.

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><p><em>This chapter is longer than what I originally anticipated, but it's certainly a worthwhile chapter. It's given me a chance to expand uponelaborate on some elements of the story, introduce one or two new elements, and built some tension. It's also allowed me to speed through the summer, for me to be able to write my Halloween special next chapter. One of the things introduced in this chapter is the interesting and controversial character of Drake Fortune. He was submitted to me by Snowskeeper and was one of the three competition winners. I've unveiled two of the three new characters (Orion and the aforementioned Drake Fortune); the third one won't be introduced for a while, but when the character is introduced it'll be pretty big._

_My question to you is, do you find the attack foreboding? What are your thoughts on the character of Drake Fortune and the differing opinions surrounding him? Also, quickly, what do you think of my implementation of the Squeal of Fortune? Do you like the feature itself in-game? These are some things for you to consider. Remember, I love hearing your feedback._

_Remember guys, I have a Twitter account (username Mainiac97) which I do update regularly. If you have a Twitter, I'd encourage you to follow for updates, jokes, anecdotes, etc. If not, you can go and check it out regardless._

_Next chapter will be my annual Halloween special. I'm all pumped for it; I'll get to it and you should be seeing it VERY soon._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	17. Chapter 17: Righteous and Heinous Part 1

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Muahahaha! Happy Halloween 2012! This special grew to be so long, I've decided to split it in half. Expect to see the second half within the next day or two! This chapter (and the next chapter) are loosely based of Jagex's 2012 Halloween event (which I enjoyed greatly), with some pretty big changes to context. So, enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 17: Righteous and Heinous Part 1<strong>_

The summer gave way to the autumn very quickly. The leaves on the trees surrounding Catherby withered and fell, leaving what looked like a crispy-brown blanket on the grassland. As time passed, the mood of the people chanced into a festive very one quickly. People began researching into what costumes they were going to wear, farmers began selling pumpkins and pumpkin-related goods, and people began wearing thick coats and fuzzy jackets again. Before I could blink twice, it was the day of Halloween and I was opening my annual Halloween package from RuneScape homes, the provider of my house.

"That's new," I commented, examining the cheaply-made zombie decoration in my hands. "I don't see that many zombie-themed decorations around. It's nice of RuneScape homes to give this to me. I'll set this up with the others." I set the decoration up next to my wooden skeleton. The paper eyes of the zombie stared forlornly at me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. I stepped back and admired my decorations.

It was now late afternoon and I'd devoted some time in the morning to decorating my house for Halloween. I didn't intend on hosting any Halloween parties this year, unlike last year, so I wasn't excessive with the decorations. Instead, after some trick-or-treating that evening, we'd have a small get-together with the werewolves in one of their houses. We could invite some friends, so we invited both Capablanca and Slinky to the event, due to their friendship with Aaron. We'd all gone travelling to Falador together so we were close; Capablanca, after all, had been my best friend for most of my time in RuneScape.

Amy11 walked towards me from the pet garden, taking my arm and pecking me on the cheek. While she did have a house of her own, she seemed to be spending more time in my own house. It was a great thing; I, imaginably enough, loved her company. What sort of decent boyfriend would I be if I didn't? "Let's go for a walk," she suggested. "Perhaps we could go fishing. If we walk to Catherby, can we walk through the woods? I think they look pretty at this time of the year with the leaves." I nodded in affirmative.

We left the house, appearing in the middle of Seer's Village. Seer's Village was practically one long street; the only four paths that led off from this one street was the path which led to Catherby, the path which led to Ardougne, the path which (apparently) led to a place called Relleka, and a path in the middle which led through a mystical woodland and eventually went to the guild for rangers. The houses and buildings of Seer's Village all looked distinctly similar, with white-painted stone walls and thatched roofs (the large marble courtroom and the castle at the far end were exceptions to this). Even the bank had a similar effect, except it was slightly bigger and had three marble support pillars in the front. Men wearing white robes with matching white hair inhabited the small town. Admiring the rather pretty village, I took Amy11 down the ranger's guild path.

We eventually walked off the path to the left and through the trees. It was a very refreshing and beautiful sight; crunchy, brown leaves fell down like some sort of dry rain, landing gently on the grass around us. A leaf fell in Amy11's hair more than once and every time I removed it from her hair, always invoking a giggle. A cool, crisp breeze blew through the trees, not uncomfortable, but chilly enough to make me feel particularly comfortable next to Amy11. We passed a unicorn, something which fascinated me enough to stop me in my tracks. I hadn't seen a unicorn in years; I don't remember if I'd even seen a unicorn before. We briefly admired its shiny-white coat, its firm horn and its elegant way of walking before moving along.

Eventually we left the dense forestry. We passed a field of flax, an enclosed section for making honey from bees, and a few small cottages before walking onto the path with Catherby directly in front of us. Catherby was decorated nicely for the occasion; paper decorations hung between the houses, pumpkins dotted the streets and even the people manning the pier had gotten into the Halloween spirit, with statues of ghosts, skeletons and vampires decorating the normally-bland wooden construction. We agreed to enter the fishing shop near the beach because I had no big net and I wanted to try big net fishing. Approaching the shop, we heard some unpleasant and odd noises. Looking at each other worriedly, we continued, opening the door. We did not expect to see what we saw inside the shop.

A colossal ghost stood there, letting off a screeching sound that hurt my ears and gave me the shivers. It was waving its ethereal arms the size of tree trunks around, catching things and sending them flying across the room. Eerie ghostly claws got caught on anything it hit with its arms, either breaking something or knocking something over. It had no legs; its body faded away into a ghostly mist where its legs should have been. I couldn't make out how strong it was; the combat level seemed temperamental and kept changing at a breakneck pace.

The big tank that normally stood next to the counter had been knocked over and shattered; small fish flopped hopelessly around the place, as good as dead. Goods scattered the floor, most of them torn or broken. The ghost reared its indistinguishable head, screaming even louder than before. The shop owner was curled up in the corner, quaking with fear.

I figured that something had to be done about the ghost. I hadn't the slightest where to start when it came to fighting the ghost, because I rarely fought ghosts and I wasn't even sure if my attacks would be effective. I unsheathed Silverlight and slashed it in the ghost's direction. Unfortunately, it passed right through the body of the ghost, succeeding in only angering it. It knocked me backwards a few feet with one of its arms. Amy11 jumped forward and tried stabbing it with her dagger. Again, it proved ineffective.

I decided to try again. Instead of using a slashing motion, I decided to use a stabbing motion to stab deeply into the ghost's body. I hit something and it flew backwards, shrieking. It, oddly enough, seemed to shrink slightly, and the noses it made seemed to grow quieter. It threw itself towards me, latching onto my neck with its claws and swinging me around, hurting me quite a bit. I felt some of my hit points drain away.

Groaning, I resorted to using magic to try and hurt the ghost. The water spell I used seemed more effective than physical attacks. Amy11 and I agreed that she should cast spells from a distance while I should try and attack it physically. This was certainly one of the more obscure and confusing battles I'd been involved in; the battle seemed based on shrinking it as opposed to depleting its hit points.

I tried a few different motions with Silverlight before deciding that the stabbing motion was the most effective. After attacking the ghost a few times, I noticed that the ghost was growing considerably weaker and smaller. Its swipes were growing weaker and the noises it was making were growing quieter. How much longer would it take for the ghost to finally fall?

Suddenly, somebody burst through the door, letting out what sounded like a yell of victory. I spun around to see Osrie1. The ghost took advantage of my distraction by clipping me across the head. "I knew I'd find one in the end!" Osrie1 cried. A glittering silver symbol of Saradomin hung around his neck. He approached the ghost slowly, held this symbol and waved it in its direction. It let off a noise I didn't realise anything could make and shrunk away from the symbol. It somehow appeared to be frightened and weakened by the symbol. Osrie1 read from a scrap of parchment in his hand, said a few non-understandable words, and waved his hands several times in a certain way. The ghost let off a final croak before shrinking way into nothing, leaving being several chunks of light-sickly-green, glowing, ghostly material.

"What was all that about?" Amy11 asked incredulously as Osrie1 collected the material that the ghost had left behind. The shop owner wasn't there to ask or answer questions; he had long gone, obviously having fled at the first opportunity possible.

"I'm on a job for Father Righteous," Osrie1 told us proudly. "Father Heinous, an evil man who apparently once worked for Master Samuel, is summoning these special ghosts that are appearing in people's houses, and it's our responsibility to stop them. I could explain further, but Father Righteous could explain the cause much better than I could. Follow me, I'll take you to him." We followed Osrie1 from the building, overwhelmingly curious.

Osrie1 took us through Catherby and down the path into Seer's Village. We walked through Seer's Village, wondering what was going on. We were in Seer's Village not so long ago. Surely there was nothing going on here? We would have noticed if there was something noteworthy happening. Osrie1 took us around the corner on the path leading to Ardounge, and ahead of us we could see a crowd. That was why we hadn't noticed it earier; it was out of our sight. In front of the crowd was a makeshift stage with a man standing on it. He wore white-and-blue robes and he was bald, except for his white facial hair. In his left hand he held the same Saradomin symbol Osrie1 had around his neck. He was waving it around as he spoke. We joined the crowd, listening intently to the man.

"I say to you people that this man is dangerous!" the man on the stage exclaimed. "Father Heinous is dangerous! He is a man of Zamorak who once served the slain Master Samuel! He is a priest of Zamorak and a dark magician. After Master Samuel died, he grew insane, dyed his skin red and grew in power to the point where he could attract a following that was still small, yet big enough to be of significance. He now uses the darkness of this Halloween to summon ghosts that do not belong on this world for some sinister, unknown purpose.

"They are unlike the ghosts that exist here already; they are taken from a place outside our understanding and are very obscure and temperamental in their behaviour. They cannot be reasoned with with amulets of ghost-speak." He shook the symbol in his hand vigorously. "These symbols have been enchanted by me to weaken the wicked ghosts so you can use a particular prayer to banish them. When they are defeated and/or banished, they will leave behind chunks of a substance called ectoplasm, which I will ask you to collect and either keep safe or give to me. My friend here will give you a symbol and teach you the pronunciation of the prayer. While strength in combat is useful in weakening the ghosts to a point, it s not effective enough by itself. It certainly works by itself if you put in the effort, but these will help you." He gestured vaguely to a man clad in similar clothing in front of the audience who was holding a box filled with the same holy symbols. "Will you let evil triumph? No! Will you let your Halloween be spoiled by the antics of a madman with the wicked power of Zamorak? No! Will you allow these ghosts to cause disruption in the area? NO! Now go, take the symbols with you, and stop this madness from ruining the day's activities!"

The audience roared, clapped and whooped in approval. "Go Team Righteous! Go Team Righteous!" they chanted. They all rushed forward simultaneously to collect a symbol before realising that they weren't going to achieve anything by doing that and forming a somewhat-orderly-but-very-excited queue. As the man handed out symbols, he also handed out slips of parchment with writing on them (similar to what Osrie1 had) and demonstrated hand movements (similar to what Osrie1 did). I realised that Osrie1 was, in fact, banishing the ghost we weakened.

When he was free, I approached Brother Righteous and attempted to strike up a conversation with him. Amy11 and Osrie1 lagged behind; they were prepared to listen to the conversation but not to be a part of it. "Hello, I am Mainiac97," I told him. "It's nice to meet you." His eyes widened.

"Why, you're the slayer of Master Samuel! I can tell it's you because you hold the famed Silverlight, the very sword which slew the evil Zamorakian man. It's great to meet you. Will you be joining, as the people have called it, Team Righteous? I suppose defeating powerful magicians is a specialty of yours," he chortled.

"I hope to," I replied. "These ghosts that he's summoned are frightening and dangerous. But, may I ask, why are they so different to most other ghosts? Their combat level changed constantly and they didn't seem to have hit points, something which confused me and made the struggle all the more difficult."

"As I said, Father Heinous, the man who is summoning them, once worked for Master Samuel," Brother Righteous sighed, glowering darkly. "I suspect that the spells he's using are from Master Samuel, due to their extreme, dark and difficult nature, and the advantage they would offer Master Samuel. The darkness of Halloween, as well as the fear that people experience on Halloween, is allowing him to cast the spell with great ease.

"The ghosts that you naturally see, as far as I can understand from my encounters with them, are spirits that failed to move on and stay here, haunting a place of death, or perhaps a place of personal importance to them. The ghosts that are being summoned, however, are dangerous and wild. They are the spirits that failed to move on completely yet to what I call 'the other side' but, despite this, they aren't in RuneScape. They remain in a limbo of sorts.

"What the spell is doing is forcing them from their limbo and into RuneScape. As you can imagine, they are very restless and distressed by no fault of their own, and that is why their combat level is indistinguishable and a battle against them is different. They are not supposed to exist here, and that is why they're different to other ghosts."

I knew much more about what he called 'the other side'; after all, I'd actually been there. It was called the Calm Space, and there was an afterlife beyond that. But I signed a deal with Death that explicitly told me not to share what I knew with anybody, so I refrained from saying anything.

"Okay," I said slowly. "That's understandable. How is it, then, that I am able to attack these things if they are spirits? What is that stuff they leave behind?"

"It's called ectoplasm, as I said previously," he informed me, removing a lump of the stuff from his pocket. It didn't look pleasant; it looked rather sickly. "For the summoned ghost to exist in the physical world, ectoplasm must be made for it to have any form of solid matter. The mist that you might break through is merely an expression of its spirit. It's a curious substance. For some reason, when you defeat an ordinary ghost, it doesn't normally leave its ectoplasm behind, while these summoned ghosts do. There are a few possibilities for this, none of which are certain and are too complicated for me to explain properly."

He fished a holy symbol and a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed them to me. "These holy symbols have been imbued with holy power by me to weaken this specific type of ghost," he told me. "Use it to weaken the ghost before banishing it. The parchment reads the needed incantation for the prayer. The movements involved go like this." He moved his arms in the same way Osrie1 moved his arms back in the fishing shop. I repeated the relatively-simple movements, and he beamed. "Good. I suspect that he's somewhere in the area, because the ghosts are only appearing in Seer's Village, Catherby, Taverley, and part of Falador. That's why I gave my talk where I did. They only appear in settlements such as houses, shops and the like. If I need your help, I'll come and find you. Good luck." I walked away with Osrie1 and Amy11 (who already had her symbol and incantation), burdened with thoughts.

I walked past buildings in Seer's Village, peering in windows and listening out for disruptions. I knew that, if a ghost appeared, there'd be a massive disruption that would be obvious as I approached the house. I noticed that there were some people doing what I was doing, which was reassuring, since I was far from alone.

The whole situation felt very eerie; it was certainly very suitable for Halloween. The one thing that intimidated me, more than the massive ghosts and the talk of unpleasant ectoplasm, was the fact that this had all been orchestrated by an old minion of Master Samuel. The magic that was involved here was most likely associated with him and it was being done on a rather worrying scale, considering that this affected several towns and villages. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and, even though that was the most worrying thing, it was also the most exciting thing.

I reflected on how good-versus-evil the whole thing felt. It wasn't something that I'd normally think about, but after hearing about Drake Fortune and his beliefs, I now noticed the blatant Zamorakian-thrashing that was happening. Father Righteous spoke of Zamorak as blatantly evil, and his prayers and spells as wicked. Was this mind-bending propaganda? Were all Zamorakians this way? Father Heinous was obviously a bad person because of the unjustified disruption he was causing, but it made me think of the nature of what was being said about those who followed Zamorak. Did the hatred exist, not just because of the actions of few, but also what was being pushed down people's necks?

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><p><em>...and that that part 1 of my annual Halloween special. Hope you liked it. My question to you is, how did youwill you celebrate Halloween this year? What did you think of the Jagex event? Were you on Team Righteous or Team Heinous? Remember, I love hearing your feedback!_

_Next chapter, expect to see more ghoulish goodness as the two-part special is completed!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	18. Chapter 18: Righteous and Heinous Part 2

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is the second half of my 2012 two-part Halloween special, based loosely off the 2012 special by Jagex with changes to context. Hope you all had a happy Halloween and hope you enjoy the chapter._

_Just a side note to say that Lasair97, the writer of the character of Orion, has started up a real fiction story based on the character on Fiction Press. It isn't associated with this story or RuneScape, but I'd suggest checking it out because it's a darn good story._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 18: Righteous and Heinous Part 2<strong>_

We strolled around Catherby and Seer's Village for almost half an hour with no occurrence, giving me a change to both reflect over things and to chat casually with Osrie1 and Amy11. We were in Catherby when, suddenly, we heard a shriek come from a nearby house. We rushed to the house and burst through the door. The scenario was very similar to the fishing shop incident; a ghost was floating in the middle of the room, smashing objects and making an unearthly, spine-tingling noise. A woman and her child were shivering in the corner, trying to avoid the debris.

I shouted some reassurances at the pair and ran forward, waving my symbol like a madman. The ghost shrunk away from me very literally. I made some repetitive stabbing motions while Amy11 Osrie1 cast a few simple spells at the ghost, weakening it further. It lashed at me, cutting me slightly.

We continued our attack, and when I felt that it was suitably vulnerable, I read the incantation and made the movements Brother Righteous taught me. The ghost let off a final yowl and vanished away, leaving behind the lump of disagreeable ectoplasm. I picked it up reluctantly, trying not to retch at the slimy, sticky, gooey texture. I put it in my pocket, hoping that it wouldn't leave a smell. The mother approached us and thanked us. We apologised for the mess the ghost had made, but she waved our apology away. She offered us a money reward for what we'd done, but we declined it, deciding that she'd need her money to replace her broken furniture. We left the house, feeling satisfied.

The next two hours passed with similar occurrences that all went the same way; we entered, we weakened the ghost, we attacked it until it was vulnerable, and we banished it effectively, collecting the ectoplasm in the process. It was now growing dark as evening came, so the paranormal events felt particularly spooky. We passed a particular house that seemed unusually wrecked; all of the windows were broken, for a start. We could hear commotion, but it seemed greater than usual. We entered, only to be horrified by what we saw.

Instead of one ghost filling up the room, there were three agitated ghosts there. There were no people there, and any furniture or decorations had been reduced to rubble. Cracks and scratches covered the walls, and chunks of the ceiling were missing. We collected ourselves and looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing the same thing; one person to each ghost. I took on the furthest one, weakening it before going in for the attack. Just as I was putting it in the place I wanted it to be, somebody else charged into the already-crowded house, bellowing.

"You people must leave!" he snarled. He wore black robes reminiscent of a dark wizard's robes, padded with black armour. He held a staff and an unholy Zamorak symbol hung around his neck. "Father Heinous will love me for this ectoplasm. I will be brutal with you if I have to!" I scowled in reply. The distraction lowered my defences, and the ghost could strike my face, bowling me backwards.

"Stay where you are!" I shouted at Amy11 and Osrie1. "I'll take this guy!" I felt my sense of determination kicking in as I aimed to defend my friends and the ghosts (even though I was only protecting the ghosts so we could banish them ourselves). The man turned to me, grinding his teeth. He swung his staff in my direction, which I easily blocked with Silverlight. I rammed him hard in the gut with the handle of the sword, winding him. He regained himself quickly and cast several spells in my direction. I avoided a few of them and took a few of them, hissing in pain as I lost several hit points. I swung Silverlight downwards in his direction. He blocked the attack with his staff. I expected it to splinter, but it did not; it was sturdier than I originally anticipated. I feinted a downwards attack before turning upwards very suddenly, succeeding in both cutting the man and making the man lose his balance. I kicked him in the groin as he stumbled. He groaned and collapsed. I smiled triumphantly.

"We've dealt with the ghosts!" Osrie1 gasped, clearly exhausted. I nodded. Just as I was about to deliver a final blow, he cast a water spell in my face, blinding me momentarily. He took this valuable time to regain himself, dash in Amy11's direction and pick her up by the scruff of the neck. I growled with rage and dashed forward to save her, but she got there first. In a twist of events that clearly surprised him more than me, Amy11 swung around and kicked him in the back of the head, cursing in his ear as she did so. He collapsed again, moaning and mumbling comments against women as he did so. I stared at his form, impressed with her skills.

"Thank goodness I found you!" somebody behind me shouted. I spun around; what else could possibly happen now? Obviously something big was to happen, because Father Righteous stood in the doorway, panting. Five people stood behind him, obviously people that he'd enlisted to help him. "I used the prayer of sight to find you," he informed me. I remembered that prayer from Tutorial Island; it brought back sour memories that I hadn't the energy or the time to ponder over.

"I've just discovered where Father Heinous is, and the name of the place itself is foreboding. It's called the Dark Wizard's Tower and it's just a few miles west of Falador, hidden away in woods, so it always evades unwanted attention." he explained, looking morose. I shuddered at the sound of the name. How could such a place be allowed to exist? "I want you to come with me because your skills could be useful and perhaps the knowledge of who you are might intimidate him enough for us to defeat him. You two could be of help too." He gestured vaguely in the direction of Amy11 and Osrie1. "A teleport to the place exists that only dark wizards use and know, but I know it because of past events where I've needed it. We'll use it now, since it's not an evil spell. Everybody hold my arms." Before we could do as much as blink, we heard a cry of protest as the helper of Father Heinous stood up and charged towards us. Father Righteous mumbled something and, with a flick of his hand, sent the man flying back into the wall with a poweful spell. Slightly amused, I joined the other seven people (including my two friends) in holding his arms. He cast the spell and I experienced the overwhelming discomfort of teleportation.

We appeared in very dark woodland, disorientated. After we'd gathered ourselves, we noticed the building in front of us. It was very much like the Wizard's Tower, except it was black, crooked, and absolutely filthy. Tall, foreboding double doors stood in front of us. Weird and sinister lights and colours flickered over the tower. Brother Righteous opened the door, which swung open, creaking.

"We'll need to go straight to the top without any stalling. If my suspicions are correct, we won't come across any wizards on our way to the top," he whispered. "Despite this, don't hesitate, don't look around too much, and, for Saradomin's sake, don't make too much noise." We all nodded. We crept into the building, an overwhelming feeling of dread and fear evident.

The room we'd entered was very plain and unfurnished, except for a table, a few chairs, several full bookcases, and chests of suspicious objects. Like the exterior of the tower, everything was filthy, crooked and unusual, as if the place just wasn't meant to be. Like the Wizard's Tower, this room had a flight of stairs leading up and a ladder leading into a menacing dungeon. As fascinated as we were with our surroundings, Father Righteous egged us on and we walked up the stairs.

We were caught by surprise as a dark wizard appeared in front of us. Before he could make any noise or raise any alarms, Father Righteous silenced him with a blast of magic which rendered him unconscious. Ignoring the room we were currently in, we walked up another flight of stairs and appeared on the top floor.

This room was crowded with what appeared to be every dark wizard in the tower as well as a variety of other people, which explained the absence of wizards on the lower floors. They all seemed to be chanting and cheering. They completely blanked us out, so we could push through the crowd undisturbed and see what was in the middle of them. We were surprised to see what looked like a massive cauldron filled to the brim with ectoplasm. Standing in front of the cauldron was none other than Father Heinous himself. He wore red-and-black robes, and he had no hair. His skin was completely and utterly red, and he wore no shoes. He held a long piece of parchment in his hand. As we entered in formation, he looked up and saw us. His face broke into a wide grin.

"Welcome!" he greeted, with a voice so cold it made me shiver with sudden discomfort. "People, look who has decided to join us. It's Righteous and his crew of clowns. I see that you've come to thwart my plan this Halloween. Unfortunately, you're much too late for that." The crowd, who'd stopped their cheering momentarily, all laughed.

"You see, the ghosts that I've been summoning are here for two reasons. The first is to cause chaos; after all, Zamorak is a god of chaos, isn't he? The second is for the ectoplasm. I want to summon a spirit larger than any other. I've been collecting the ectoplasm purely so I can channel one spirit into it. The monster will be so big, it'll be unstoppable. I don't want to control it, I just want to unleash it. Why? I want to cause mass panic, inconvenience and chaos. Why's this? I have no reason. I have absolutely no reason! It's just Halloween! Why not cause a bit of fear in the name of Zamorak, eh? It's what my old master would have wanted. We may as well begin the spell now, since our new guests have joined us. There's more than enough ectoplasm."

This man's obvious madness both angered and scared me. I had no idea what he was capable of. If he could do this, what else could he do? How much danger were we really in? In a move of stupidity, I ran forward to tackle him. He cast me in binds, and, as an afterthought, he cast everybody in binds.

The dark wizards continued chanting their encouragements and insults, and I panicked. What could be done? We were stuck. Father Heinous was laughing, yet this was no joke. Their cheering came to a climax, and Father Heinous began mumbling an incantation. After a few minutes, what looked like a light-green swirling mist surrounded the cauldron. He yelled a long and complex incantation, and the roof above us seemed to move back to expose the dark sky above us. "You can feel the winds of the un-dead," he cackled. "Just listen to their moaning!" I could hear lots of jeering voices and a rustling, but I heard no moaning. This man was completely crazy.

The ectoplasm rose from the cauldron and began bubbling as the mist swirled around it. It began expanding on a massive rate as the mist breached, entered and surrounded its pores. What looked like ghostly appendages came from the ectoplasm. These appendages began destroying everything surrounding it. Father Heinous' look of glee quickly turned into one of horror as he saw the appendages knock over wizards and break chunks from the wall. Two humongous limbs spurted from the oversized ghost that was forming and completely tore down one side of the wall, letting off an awful unearthly racket. Dark wizards and members of Team Heinous began cursing and fleeing. We were bound and were unable to flee; we, however, were able to evade serious injury by remaining under the monster.

Father Heinous stepped forward. "Can you hear me?" he screamed. "You are terrifying and beautiful at the same time. Listen to me!" It roared in reply, roaring so loudly the surroundings shook and our magical bonds all broke. We crawled out of harm's way, a space which was steadily shrinking. Father Heinous cast a spell and flew overhead. The ghost eventually grew so big, it broke completely through the walls, demolishing the top floor and leaving us feeling very exposed. It floated upwards, continuously screeching so loudly my eardrums couldn't bear it. I was sure Falador could hear it.

The ghost waved its huge arms wildly, knoking Father Heinous and slamming him into the ground, something which considerably weakened him. The parchment flew from his hands and into Father Righteous'. He proceeded to read it desperately.

"I can make sense of this!" he yelled at us. "I can modify and reverse the spell to banish that ghost, which is still growing. I need all of your runes!" He handed him all of our runes collectively. "I need more!" he demanded urgently. "Go downstairs and try and find runes!" The injured Father Heinous screamed in protest, flying forward to try and stop them. "Mainiac97, try and hold him back! If anyone can do it, you can!" Father Righteous instructed. He then began pronouncing his reverse incantation.

I jumped forward and prodded Father Heinous with Silverlight. He spun around, howling with irritation. "I will deal with you swiftly!" he spat. I snorted.

"Like Master Samuel failed to do before I killed him?" I taunted. His eyes widened momentarily as he realised who I was before his lip curled.

"I will complete his legacy, then," he murmured, obviously irked. He began casting a spell, before spitting on the ground with frustration. "I appear to have exhausted my runes summoning the ghost," he growled. "I can manage without them, though." He leapt forward and wrestled with me. He was very strong physically, but it wasn't his area of expertise, so I felt like I could overpower him with enough perseverance. He muttered what sounded like prayers, and his strength increased, but not significantly. Startled, I was caught by surprise and crushed to the ground. He'd used prayers of strength! I forced myself around and I stabbed his knee as hard as I could. He keeled over, but a prayer of defence seemed to muffle the attack slightly.

I could see people rushing to Father Righteous with armfuls of runes, so I saw that this wasn't a game of defeating, but a game of distraction. I needn't beat Father Heinous; I just needed to keep his attention from the spell Father Righteous was casting. He noticed the runes and bounced forward to grab some. I tugged his legs with all my might, straining myself. I managed to swing him around, and I kneed him in the chin in an attempt of taking his attention from the nearby activities.

The gigantic ghost overhead seemed to grow bored with simply hovering and making noise, so it flew towards the woods and began its way towards Falador, causing a racket by wrecking the trees as it did so. I gulped; it needed to be banished and quickly, otherwise we'd be doomed.

Father Heinous threw chunks of rubble in my direction. All of them were accurate; they hit in quick succession and stole a large number of my hit points. I keeled over, hissing, trying to collect myself before he attacked again. I head-butted him in the stomach and he let out a slight exclamation of pain. I dug the hilt of Silverlight into his side, and he flinched. I tried twisting it around so the blade itself would pierce him, but he wrestled with me and forced me away. He swung his fist in my direction, and despite my dodging attempts, they continuously hit. Perhaps he was using a prayer of accuracy. He grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up.

I bit his arm as hard as I could and he let go of me, yelping with surprise. Mustering all of my power, I whacked him as hard as I could with Silverlight, leaving a cut on his shoulder. He fell over, taken aback. I took advantage of his weakness to strike him again with the sword. He lost his temper and began swinging punches in my direction. As accurate as they were, they weren't particularly effective. I wrestled with him and eventually overpowered him. I lifted him up by the neck, like he did with me.

"Your prayers aren't doing you a lot of good now, are they?" I laughed. "They can't be that effective. Our exchange was surprisingly unchallenging. All of your magic expertise has gone to waste because I can now do to you what I did to Master Samuel." He grinned, revealing an ugly set of teeth.

"Don't be so overconfident. Blast of darkness!" he suddenly bellowed. My heart dropped as I remembered the prayer he was casting. A black sphere formed in his hand, grew massively and flew directly into my stomach before I could blink. I flew backwards, hit something hard and blacked out for about ten seconds.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the cold, dirty and uncomfortable floor, drained of hit points to a serious degree. I stood up, only to realise that I'd landed dangerously close to the edge of the tower. Any further and I would have plunged to my death. My relief was momentary as I spotted Father Heinous nearby, gasping. He'd obviously had to exert himself to make the prayer. I lurched forward to take advantage of his weakness, but it was very difficult because I was weakened myself after the attack.

Father Heinous got to me first after he'd regained himself regardless. We wrestled and tore at each other for about a minute before I pushed him to the floor, exhausted. He stood up to attack me again before a cry of victory distracted the both of us. "We've done it!" Father Righteous cried. "We've succeeded! The ghost has been banished!" We heard the familiar unearthly screech, except it was louder and more blood-curdling than ever before. The ghost flew upwards from the forest, roaring and roaring. It was pulsating and shrinking steadily. An unnatural wind blew heavily as the spirit was forced from RuneScape. Eventually, finally, thankfully, the ghost faded away into nothing, leaving nothing but an extensive amount of ectoplasm.

Father Heinous howled with what appeared to be anguish as the realisation of the gravity of the situation washed over him. Father Righteous walked over to him, sneering, an expression which made me slightly uncomfortable. "Well," he said. "What have we here? A commander with no soldiers, a shepherd with no sheep? It appears so. They've all fled, running away from that which they helped create." He captured the helpless Father Heinous in binds. "I think the white knights will be very interested in the man who's been causing all this havoc in the area, especially considering that he was an ex-follower of Master Samuel." Father Heinous proceeded to spit insults and obscenities before being silenced by Father Righteous.

He turned to me, smiling. "I must thank you," he professed. "If it weren't for your excellent efforts against Father Heinous, we wouldn't have banished the ghost as quickly, if at all." I began protesting, arguing that I only succeeded in occupying him the way I did because of his lack of magic, but Father Righteous waved my protests away. "It is irrelevant why it was easy for you to succeed. What matters is that you succeeded," he told me firmly. "You played an important role, and for that I must reward you."

He removed a curious object from his pocket. It was a stone contraption which was slightly bigger than a dagger. It had a handle, and two small stone arches jutted out from the handle. Glowing, green symbols were engraved onto these stone arches, and something green and swirling existed between these arches. "This is called the ectoplasmator," he explained. "When you're fighting a ghost or some sort of ghostly creature with this object in your possession, it'll force the ectoplasm from the ghost and offer you prayer experience in the process. This is the only way you can get ectoplasm from a ghost that hasn't been summoned with his branch of dark magic. I don't need it, so perhaps you could make use of it." He handed it to me and I thanked him, satisfied. He proceeded to thank everyone for their help, offering them all some form of reward.

We all took his arm (he clutched Father Heinous) and he teleported us to Falador. We looked a sight in Falador, all covered in cuts, bruises and rubble, me especially. He told us that he was going to hand Father Heinous in and that we should wait momentarily for him, because he had an additional reward for us. While he was away, I entertained the possibility of going for a chat with one of my Falador friends before deciding against it. I eavesdropped on fragments of passing people's conversations, not an easy task in such a busy place on such a busy holiday. One obvious object of discussion was the "giant floating ghost" people had seen in the sky. Most thought it was a "spooky trick" while others saw it as something of greater significance. _Little do they know, _I thought grimly.

Father Righteous returned and teleported us all back to Seer's Village. "I'd just like to thank you all for your help," he told us. "I've got one reward which I would like you all to have. Here, follow me." He took us to the bank, asked us to wait for a second, and entered. He exited about half a minute later with an armful of white-and-blue robes similar to his. "I would like you all to take one set of my robes each," he explained. "They are hallowed robes of Saradomin that have prayers and blessings knitted through them. Wearing these, you'll find that your prayers of Saradomin will be more efficient. Thank you again for helping me stop the evil acts of that Zamorakian scumbag. I appreciate it." The other members of Team Righteous scattered. I reminded Amy11 and Osrie1 of the trick-or-treating and the gathering with the werewolves before they left.

Before Father Righteous could leave, I stopped him momentarily. "I have one or two questions to ask you," I said in the politest way possible. He nodded and waited patiently. "While I was fighting Brother Heinous, he was using prayers without needing magic or runes. May I ask, why didn't Master Samuel do this in my last fight against him? Brother Heinous used prayers which enhanced his strength and defence, prayers which might have helped Master Samuel."

"There's a few possibilities," Father Righteous pondered. "Perhaps Master Samuel was exhausted of his prayer points before fighting you. I find it unlikely, since he had the God Rune to offer him unlimited energy and points very shortly before your fight, so he would have had a short window of time to lose all of his points. I think, perhaps, he chose not to, because his focus would have been purely on trying to overpower you. If he risked trying to say a prayer and it broke his concentration (especially after everything that had happened before), it'd mean defeat for him." He then smiled. "He was defeated regardless. Maybe he did have prayers activated, but you didn't notice because of your focus."

"That makes sense, and it gives me food for thought. But, speaking of Master Samuel, why did he entrust Heinous with such a powerful spell? I don't imagine that all his wizards could summon ghosts. How were you able to reverse the spell?"

"You must remember that Heinous was more important than most wizards," Brother Righteous mused. "He was always a faithful Zamorakian, determined, charismatic, always persevering. He would have impressed Master Samuel to the point of earning the right to use certain spells that most dark wizards would not. Perhaps it wasn't Master Samuel that taught him the spell; perhaps it was whoever took over Master Samuel's legacy." I knew that this was either James or Fiend, something which brought unpleasant thoughts back to the front of my mind. "As for how I banished the ghost, I took the pronunciations and meanings of certain parts of the incantation, reversed them where necessary, and added parts to it which would banish the ghost. Not an easy feat to accomplish in such a short space of time, mind you." I thanked him for his satisfying answers. He left, thanking me a final time for my help. I waved back at him.

The night wore on, and I dressed up, ready for trick-or-treating. I wore my skeleton set, I collected my annual experience lamp from diango, and I safely stored my ectoplasmator and my hallowed robes. I eyed my Saradomin symbol blessed by Father Righteous. I was considering he possibility of training my prayer skill, seeing as I'd never particularly bothered with the immensely useful skill, apart from burying the bones of my kills on the odd occasion. The symbol would be useful to me in my prayer.

I met up with Amy11 and Osrie1 afterwards and we went around Seer's Village and Catherby to trick-or-treat. We joined the werewolves with pots full of candy. Capablanca and Slinky joined us; she was dressed in a revealing witch costume and he was dressed in his white knight uniform, but with a skull mask to go with it.

As we celebrated, ate, drunk, and enjoyed the Halloween, some foreboding thoughts remained in my mind. Everything that seemed to happen recently pointed to Master Samuel and his legacy. The prophecy, the shark attack, and now the activity of Father Heinous all pointed to the shadows of the past. Despite the negativity I associated with Zamorak, recent things had made me reconsider the way I saw the religion. Drake Fortune had been one obvious thing that made me think more about Zamorak's true nature.

But, surprisingly enough, Father Righteous had also made me think about the way I saw Saradominists. Despite his good intentions, he seemed to tar every Zamorakian with the same brush and what he wanted to achieve seemed fuelled by hatred. He seemed to see himself and his stand in a very positive light, something which unnerved me. As Aaron walked in with more drinks, I tried to knock the negative thoughts from my head and enjoy the evening. It'd been an eventful Halloween, that much was for certain.

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><p><em>Hope that was a satisfying conclusion. This special wasn't originally meant to be so big or dramatic, but it escalated rather quickly and I think it's worked out better that way. My question to you is, do you think Mainiac97 will benefit from some prayer skill? Also, did you enjoy your Halloween? :D<em>

_Guys, I've written a lot in the past week and a half or so, so I'm going to spread my writing out a bit and you'll see me next on Thanksgiving with a new Thanksgiving-themed chapter, in which Mainiac97 takes on another old favourite quest. I have good reason for this, though, because a) it'll be a bumper event-filled chapter, b) I have a project planned for December, and c) I'm planning a revamp of the original 'The Adventure Through RuneScape' early on in the New Year. Hope you guys enjoy it all as much as I do!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	19. Chapter 19: Fishing Contest

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_A happy Thanksgiving 2012 to all of my American readers. This chapter has a Thanksgiving theme to it. This chapter also covers a famous RuneScape quest. I know it's been a while since I last updated, but, as I said at the end of the last chapter, I have good reason for the break. This chapter's a bumper chapter; it's literally the longest chapter I've ever written and took a while to write. I've also got a few other surprises up my sleeves, including a project planned for December 2012 and a revamp of the first 'The Adventure Through RuneScape' early on in the new Year._

_I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 19: Fishing Contest<strong>_

As the autumn progressed, more and more leaves fell from the trees surrounding the area, leaving them looking very bare. I found myself almost ankle-deep in crispy, brown leaves walking through the woodland nowadays. I'd recently come across a small pocket of beauty of the woodland in the form of a few magic trees hidden from view; despite this, they were normally occupied by people who sought after the valuable magic logs. Walks through the woodland grew steadily colder as winter approached. As much as I loved the warmth of the summer, I did enjoy autumn and winter because of the brilliant seasonal atmosphere.

A lot of attention had been attracted to the events of Halloween in the days following it. News of Father Heinous' activities had splattered the newspaper, becoming a common object of discussion. While Father Righteous had been referenced as the one who banished the giant ghost and brought Heinous to justice, none of us had been mentioned. I wasn't disappointed by this (and I thought that it'd be very self-obsessed of me if I was), although I did wonder why it hadn't been picked up on, since I was the one who slew Heinous' old master.

Every time I thought back to my fight against Heinous, I'd realised that his use of prayer had made the battle more difficult for me. I'd decided to try and practice my prayer more often as a result, in the hope that it would give me greater advantage in battle. Any time I killed something that left behind bones, I made an active effort to bury them for the experience. I worshipped often, making good use of the altar in Seer's Village.

My recent questioning of the true nature of Zamorak had made me dislike people like Heinous even more. His actions in the name of Zamorak had been all over the news, giving Zamorakians an even worse a name than what they had already. It would only lead to fear and discrimination against those who worshipped Zamorak but were perhaps just. I decided that I'd only treated Heinous the way I did during the fight because of what he was doing against Zamorakians as a whole, on top of his association with Master Samuel. My shift in perception was even changing the way I saw Saradominists and Saradomin generally; were my revelations truly healthy? What would it do to the way I saw the world and the way I made decisions? I felt disorientated and confused on where I stood religiously and ethically; how would this influence me?

One afternoon I walked around my trophy room slowly, examining the objects on display. I approached the most recent addition to the trophy room, that being the teeth of the possessed shark. It reminded me of the foreboding nature of the attack and the fact that danger lurked around every corner. Despite this, I decided not to allow my worries ruin the time of the year. I wanted to enjoy the autumn and everything associated with it, so I forced any concerns I had to the back of my mind.

Today was Thanksgiving, a brilliant holiday. I'd done some interesting things on Thanksgiving celebrations over the years, including battling giant turkeys, trying to remove agitated turkeys from towers, and, of course, taking part in numerous different feasts hosted by numerous different people. Every year, turkeys appeared all across RuneScape around the time of Thanksgiving. I'd taken advantage of this by stocking my larder up with turkey meat, since I wouldn't be able to do it for another year after a few more days.

Tonight, a particularly large feast had been organised to celebrate the occasion. It was a community feast for all the residents of Catherby, and some from Seer's Village. The market would be cleared of stalls and a long table would be set up there, open for anyone to sit. All of the drink would be provided by the dwarves living under the White Wolf Mountain, some of which would be joining the feast. Rumour said that they were normally shy and reserved dwarves who minded their own business, but on Thanksgiving they'd take the opportunity to celebrate.

Thinking of those dwarves reminded me of something I wanted to do. I'd heard that the dwarves had a tunnel which led under the mountain and to Taverley. To save having to go through the mountain every time I wanted access to Taverley, I wanted to be able to use this tunnel to go straight through without having to compete against the harsh conditions and the ravenous wolves. The house which the dwarves lived in had been pointed out to me, and today I intended to ask them for permission to use this tunnel.

I left my trophy room and left my house, appearing in Seer's Village. Following the path, I entered Catherby and walked through it purposefully. I walked through the market, past a couple of houses, and near to the edges of the mountain. Here I found a relatively-small hut with smoke coming from its chimney. Rehearsing what I was going to say quietly, I knocked on the door. A booming voice told me to enter, and I obliged.

The hut's interior seemed, typically, for dwarves. The stairs were small, the chairs were small, the cupboard was small, and the stove in the corner was small. The only two noticeably-big things were the roaring fireplace occupying almost a whole wall and the cave entrance to my left, which I assumed led under the mountain. Two dwarves occupied two of the chairs. They both looked distinctly alike, leading me to believe they were brothers. They both had similar ginger beards which were tied up intricately, and they both wore similar brown leather clothes.

"Can we help you?" one of them asked firmly but not unkindly.

"Yes," I replied, choosing my words carefully. "I've heard that you, as dwarves, have a tunnel which leads under the White Wolf Mountain. As you can imagine, trekking through the mountain to go to Taverley is an inconvenience, so I was hoping that I'd be able to use your tunnel." The dwarf raised one bushy eyebrow.

"We don't normally let humans use our tunnel, since it was built by dwarves and is for dwarves," the dwarf explained. "Not bein' rude or anythin', but we can't let you use it. We understandin' each other here?" I nodded, slightly disappointed.

"Is there anything I can do to earn the right to use it?" I asked in what must have sounded like a pleading tone. The dwarves stroked their beards thoughtfully and had a rushed, whispered conversation.

"Well…" the other dwarf said, hesitating slightly. "There is something you could do for us. You see, there's a fishin' contest happenin' this time of year in Hemenster not far past Seer's Village. We really want one of those famous gold trophies that you get from winnin' the competition, but we dwarves ain't no good with fishing so we can't do it ourselves. You good at fishin'?" I shrugged and made a so-so motion with my hand. While I fished all the time and was steadily increasing in level (I'd recently reached level 50, the level needed to catch swordfish), I didn't know if I was good enough to compete in any contest. "Will you go to the contest and try to win it? If you win it and bring us the trophy, we'll let you use our here tunnel."

I considered it. It was my only hope really. I had no idea how I'd succeed in winning such a competition, but I felt that it was worth a try, considering the rewards. I nodded, and the dwarf patted my back. "Thanks," he smiled. He handed me a ticket with a picture of a fish on it. "This ticket here'll let you into Hemenster. Not easy to get one of these, mind you, but we can't make no use of it. The name's Austri, by the way, and here's my brother Vestri. Good luck." I thanked the dwarves and backed out of the house, thinking about what I'd let myself into.

After withdrawing some fishing utensils and some bait, I walked through Seer's Village and took the path leading to Ardougne, keeping my eyes peeled for Hemenster. I eventually passed a gate with a sign reading 'Hemenster' overhead. Sitting by the gate was an old man wearing a worn-leather jacket and a flat cap. I approached him and presented him with my ticket.

"This is valid," he smiled, handing the ticket back to me. "In you come." He opened the gate for me, and I entered.

"May I ask, what is Hemenster? I've heard about fishing contests; could you explain to me how these work?" I asked politely.

"It's a reserved place for people to fish," he replied pleasantly. "We share the same waters as the fishing guild practically next to us, so our fish are top-quality. At the moment, we're holding daily fishing contents until New Year's Eve. We do this every year. A competition normally lasts about twenty minutes and the winner is the person who has the biggest, most skilful catch. Throughout the morning and afternoon, we hold practice matches, with coin and experience rewards for those. At five in the afternoon we hold our big daily contest. The reward for this is one of our gold trophies as well as coins and experience; runners-up receive just the coins and experience.

"On New Year's Eve, we have what we call the championship, which is open to all who have won gold trophies previously. In this championship, we whittle down the fishermen in challenges and contests throughout the day until we find a winner, who is then the Hemenster champion of that year and wins a diamond trophy." I thanked the man for his information. "Our next practise contest is starting in twenty or so minutes. Would you like to try your luck at it?" he enquired. I agreed, and he took my name to register me. "You can use the time until then to practise."

Hemenster was a reasonably-big enclosed space next to water. To my far left was a big hut, occupied by experienced-looking men who were overlooking the area. I assumed that these people would be the people judging the contests. People sat or stood by the water, fishing with a variety of tools. A big leader board on the wall on my left-hand side listed dates leading up to New Year's Eve and all of those who'd won contests on the relevant days. Three podiums elevated to three different heights stood by the leader board, clearly signifying first, second and third.

I approached the water, and I noticed something unusual as I was unpacking. A man in a long, black coat sat on the far right end next to the wall. He was using a rod to fish. It wasn't his appearance or the way he fished which made him unusual; every time anybody went near him, he shouted at them, demanding that they keep their distance. Why was he so sensitive? Why did he react so angrily? What was he hiding? I originally tried ignoring it, but it bothered me to the point of distraction. There was something fishy in the air, and it wasn't the fish themselves. Curiosity eventually overpowered me, and I decided to attempt approaching him myself.

I strolled towards him as casually as I could with a net in hand, making out that I wanted to fish in the patch next to him. He spun around, hissing unnaturally. "Leave me be!" he spat, grinding his teeth and waving his hands. I backed off, feeling intimidated. It wasn't his annoyance which intimidated me, however. His skin was as pale as marble, and his eyes were red. What gave it away, though, were his teeth. He had fangs which glinted in the autumn sunlight. I was being batted away by a vampire.

I returned to my previous spot, feeling stunned and disoriented. Why was there a vampire, of all things, in Hemenster? Did it mean anything? If they weren't in Morytania or another suitably-dark place, it hinted towards some suspicious things. There were possibly more around. There could be a separate clan nearby, but the possibility that they were connected to the broken clan that I was already familiar with was unthinkable. It was frighteningly foreboding.

My first instinct was to unsheathe Silverlight and to fight him. My second instinct was to run and flee. But, after collecting myself and calming down, I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed, although why nobody else had noticed or reacted was beyond me. I decided to report it to the werewolves as soon as I saw one of them next. It was an alarming revelation and had to be shared with them, in case it had anything to do with them or there was anything they could do about it.

I plunged my net into the water, running it through the net with a slow, rhythmic motion. After about half a minute, a small mackerel appeared in my net. I made a few more small catches before the practise round began. A man left the hut and announced that it was starting, saying that all catches made within the allotted time of twenty minutes by registered contestants should be kept, and if anyone additional wanted to take part, they should register immediately. There would be no cheating, as everything was being overseen by the people inside the hut.

As time progressed, I looked at the other contestants and how they were faring. I dared not look at the vampire; knowing what he was made me naturally want to keep my eyes away from him. Despite this, I noticed that all the other contestants were faring considerably better than I was. My catches were tiny in comparison.

Eventually the practise round drew to a close, and I fished desperately, trying to catch something of significance as opposed to the tiny fish I had already. A horn was blown to signify the end, and I sighed, feeling exasperated. People walked around, collecting the catches of the contestants temporarily. As mine were collected, I noticed amusement in the eyes of the Hemenster worker. I bit my tongue, refraining from saying something bitter. The winner and two runners-up were eventually announced; as expected, I wasn't among them. They stood on the podium and accepted an experience lamp each (assumedly containing differing amounts of experience); the winner and second runner-up also won money. The man thanked everyone for partaking in the competition and encouraged everyone of return at five o'clock, which was an hour and a half away. After I collected my fish, I left Hemenster, racking my brains.

I decided to pace around Catherby in the vain hope that it'd give me some inspiration involving how to win the competition. I wasn't that good at fishing, and winning a big competition seemed impossibly difficult. In order to win the trophy, I needed to either significantly increase my fishing level (which could take quite a bit of time) or use some other technique. As I walked through Catherby while trying to formulate some plan of action, I bumped into Harry. Grinning, he greeted me, and we exchanged some pleasantries. I explained my situation to him briefly. "You see, I don't know how I'd win the competition, but if I don't win it I won't be able to use that tunnel."

"You can't use our technique, can you?" he joked. I chuckled. "In all seriousness, we're not too good at normal fishing, so we can't be of any help. If I were you, I'd go around the fishing guild, which is practically next to Hemenster. You can find some experienced fishermen there to get some advice from." I Thanked Harry for his advice and moved on swiftly.

I returned to the path to Hemenster, slightly unsure as to who I should be talking to. I walked beyond the gates to what I supposed was the fishing guild. The gates were guarded by a fisherman who wore a blue sailor's suit and had a prominent white beard. He was knitting a net absentmindedly. I approached him, not to enter the guild (not that I'd have any chance of entering) but to ask for advice. He looked up, smiling politely.

"Hello," he greeted. "You've got to be of a certain level to enter this guild." This confirmed to me that I was most certainly outside the fishing guild. "Can I see your book to prove your fishing level?"

"I'm not here to enter the guild," I replied, smiling. "I was hoping I could have some advice from an experienced fisherman."

"What would you like to know?" he asked. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can." I explained the situation to him, and his brow furrowed for a second as he thought for a solution. "You've set yourself a challenge," he informed me. "Some top-end fishermen partake in that competition. You'd be lucky to even be a runner-up with your fishing level, with all due respect. What form of fishing were you using?"

"Net fishing," I replied. He nodded.

"How close to yourself were you fishing?" he asked.

"Rather close. I thought that was the best way to net fish," I mumbled uncertainly.

"Did you use any bait?" he asked. I shook my head. "I think I can see the problem here. There are a few mistakes you are making that are setting you back. Would you like me to elaborate?" I nodded eagerly. He cleared his throat, and explained.

"To start off, you won't catch many big fish with a net," he told me. "The biggest fish that you can catch with a big net is a sea bass. You said you were level fifty, right?" I nodded. "You'd be kind of unlikely to catch that. Fishing with a harpoon would be sufficient, but I'd use a fishing rod if I were you. With the right technique, you can catch some whopping fish with a rod. You tend to fish deeper with a rod, and the bigger fish usually lurk lower down. The further out you're fishing, the better. Stronger rods made from stronger woods will usually be able to handle heavier fish. Therefore, I suggest you visit a specialist (the fishing shopkeeper in Catherby can do it) to elongate your rod with stronger wood, perhaps yew or something. Magic wood is the best, however. Doing it yourself requires higher fletching levels." The concept of fletching was unfamiliar to me, but I decided not to ask questions. "So, the rod is of importance, but there are other factors to consider.

"While typical bait that you can buy in a normal shop is sufficient, the quality of bait is very important. Fish will tend to be greater attracted to what they consider to be more delicious bait of a better quality. The best bait you can get around here are red vine worms. They live in McGrubor's Wood (which is just north-west of here), on red vines; the wood is blocked off and access to it is very limited, however, so I'd get it in the Grand Exchange, assuming there's someone selling it and they're selling it for a reasonable price. Some people will charge ridiculous amounts for bait.

"It's also very important to consider location. I've won the contest many times in my life and I've even won the championship a few times, so I know the best spot. Try and snag the spot closest to the wall on the far right-hand side walking into Hemenster; the biggest fish tend to be there. If it's taken, however, try and go as close to the wall as you can."

He elaborated slightly on technique and how to use strength when reeling in a catch. I thanked him for his time and offered him some coins, which he declined. He cut me a piece of netting to tie to my belt; I could keep my worms in here so they wouldn't stink out my bag or make a mess in my pockets. Despite his protests, I left him some coins as a token of my appreciation and walked off, thinking over his advice.

I decided to go looking for the red vine worms first of all. I walked up the path and back into Seer's Village. I continued off the path and walked north-west, as the fisherman suggested. I walked among some trees and eventually ran into a fence; I assumed that this was the McGrubor's Wood. I followed the fence, hoping it would take me to an entrance. It did; I eventually came across a gate. It was guarded by an angry-looking man in green holding an intimidating axe who shot me a menacing look and pointed to a 'private property' sign, so I decided that I wouldn't find access to the woods that way.

I paced around, feeling agitated. I didn't want to have to go to Varrock, with no guarantee that I'd be able to get the worms I wanted, let alone at a cheap price. After some walking around the gate, I found a broken bar in it which left a rather wide gap. I entertained the possibility of forcing myself through the gap to enter the woodland; despite the easy access to the worms, there was an off-putting possibility of being caught and beaten by a furious axe-man. Besides, I wasn't really allowed to, but it seemed unreasonable for the woodland to be blocked off completely for no reason. I weighed up the options before deciding to force entry.

I pushed myself through the gap, grunting as I did so. I came through and stumbled right into a tree. Pulling twigs from my hair, I walked cautiously into the woodland, keeping an eye out for anything potentially dangerous. After I'd walked a fair distance, I began looking for red vines. I looked through some and found nothing. Growing frustrated, I continued looking.

I heard some rather menacing echoes from deeper within the forest. Slightly perturbed, I tried to ignore the noises, my heart racing. I heard what sounded like a growl, which unnerved me even more. There were some scratching and barking noises. Suddenly, something brown and furry pounced towards me from among the trees ahead. Whatever it was, it had razor-sharp teeth and drooled an awful lot. Crying with surprise, I unsheathed Silverlight and struck the creature. It fell on the floor, whining. I saw that it was a large dog; a tag around its neck suggested that it wasn't a wild dog and was probably there for guarding purposes. I decided not to attack it with my sword, in case I injured it and caused problems for the owner of the woods.

It jumped upwards and went to bite me. I wrestled with it, trying to stop it from hurting me or itself. It snapped wildly, growling and roaring. It caught my arm, causing me to hiss with pain. I overpowered it eventually and pushed it backwards. It tumbled down, yapping. I cast a successful bind spell on it, incapacitating it. I gingerly picked up the writhing creature and set it aside among a group of trees, out of sight. I walked briskly forward.

I looked through some more vines to no avail until I came across a large amount of worms clinging to some vines. Grimacing, I scooped up the unpleasant, slimy things and put them in the piece of netting attached to my belt. There was plenty there, so I was in no shortage of worms. I left McGrubor's Wood swiftly, fortunate enough to avoid unwanted attention.

I left the woodland and approached Seer's Village, my heart still racing after that worrying experience. I hoped that nobody could trace the disturbance back to me, or I'd be in trouble. I felt a little guilty for breaking into private property in such a fashion and I knew it wasn't really right, but at least I could acquire the worms that I wanted. I walked briskly through Seer's Village and into Catherby. My next goal was to talk to the shopkeeper in the fishing shop about elongating my rod with a stronger wood.

I entered the shop, searching for the shopkeeper. There was no sign of him. I waited patiently for a minute, looking at the wares. He'd repaired his shop after the damage it sustained because of the angry ghost, doing some maintenance and improvements in the process. He eventually entered from a back room, smiling upon seeing me.

"Hello there, Mainiac97," he grinned. "How can I help you?"

"I'm taking part in the Hemenster fishing competition," I told him. "I need to have my fishing rod extended with a stronger wood. Do you think you can do this for me? How much would that cost?"

"Can I see your rod?" he asked. "Also, how did you succeed in getting a ticket into Hemenster?"

"Somebody gave it to me for the purposes of winning the competition for them," I explained as I handed my wooden rod over. He nodded in acknowledgement and examined the rod.

"I could extend this with a better wood," he mused. "But the wood the rod's already made of won't be enough to hold the weight of the extra wood and any big fish you may catch. I can make an entire rod made of the stronger wood and transfer the other parts. Would you rather that?" I nodded. "It might be more expensive, depending on the wood we're talking about here."

"What's the best wood you've got here? I asked.

"Magic wood," he replied. "There are possibly stronger woods, but they're beyond my reach. The string would also need to be reinforced. I can make you a magic wood rod. It'd normally cost you about 3, 500gp, possibly more, considering the price of logs and the price of fletching and crafting labour and everything. But," he added, eyeing up the bulky fish-net bag filled with worms hanging from my belt. "I can reduce that price steadily. I'll whittle it down to 2, 500gp as a token of gratitude for your help on Halloween. I can whittle it down even more if you give me some of those worms. They're not easy to get a hold of."

We discussed prices until I gave him some worms and 150gp for his services. He told me to return in half an hour for the rod. I decided to buy some normal bait and a typical, cheap, wooden rod to use both in the meantime and as a spare. I left, considering what else had to be done in preparation for the big contest. There were two more things I needed to do; I needed to find a way of getting the spot that the vampire was occupying and I needed to practise the new techniques that had been taught to me.

I racked my brains thoroughly for anything that I could use to either get the vampire to move or to be able to go close to the vampire without him trying to shoo me away. I thought back to past experiences involving vampires. The idea then struck me; I could use garlic to try and make the vampire move. Vampires hated garlic, so the vampire wouldn't be able to stand the smell. I decided it was worth a shot, at the least. I thought momentarily about how I would acquire the garlic before remembering that I was very near to the Catherby farming market, in which I would most likely find garlic. Nothing had been moved for tonight's feast yet, so now would be the perfect time. I went to the market and spent a few minutes asking around for garlic, before finding it and buying plenty of it.

I decided to go fishing in Catherby for the remainder of the time, to try out some of the techniques taught to me by the fishing champion. One thing he taught me was the importance of perseverance in rod fishing particularly; if one were to hesitate while trying to reel in a fish, even momentarily, it would be likely that the fish would escape. Another thing that had been taught to me was that a swift upward motion exerting strength after reeling in the fish would ensure that the fish surfaced and would be unable to evade its demise. Since I didn't rod-fish very often, these tips were particularly useful. However, he did give some more general tips that would apply to most types of fishing such as net fishing, pot fishing or harpoon fishing.

I spent about twenty or so minutes practising rod-fishing techniques. I wasn't very optimistic about the competition; I was up against some talented fishermen and I'd have to be massively fortunate to win the trophy. I just hoped that the secrets taught to me by the master would be sufficient. _Then again, _I thought. _It's going on for a while, so I can just keep trying if I fail the first time._

"How's things?" somebody behind me said cheerfully, taking me by surprise. I turned around to see Amelia. I beamed and gave her a friendly hug. She was very pleasant and I'd grown friendly with her over the past few months of knowing her.

"I'm okay," I replied, my voice etched with underlying worry. "I'm just a little concerned. I've agreed to help a dwarf by trying to win a fishing competition, but I'm sceptical that I'll manage to do it. It doesn't help that I've discovered a vampire there." Her eyes widened and she gawped like a fish for a few seconds. "Yes, there was a vampire in Hemenster. He frightened the life out of me when I first met him. I have no idea what he was doing there, or who he is associated with."

"There has been a nasty stench around Catherby for a while," she muttered darkly. "We need to look into this. It makes me wonder if there are more of them. I need to tell Harry as soon as possible. Thanks for mentioning it." She walked off briskly, obviously disturbed. I hoped that the werewolves could find something of use; there could be a threat imminent, and we needed to tackle it before it became problematic.

I decided that a long enough period of time had passed, so I went to collect my new rod. It was ready for me, and it was brilliant. It was made from the sturdiest magic wood which sparkled beautifully against the autumn sunlight. I thanked the shopkeeper massively for his help and I swiftly left. Before I went back to Hemenster, however, I couldn't help trying the rod out in Catherby. I found that my catches were improving thanks to the strength and the length of the rod.

I went back to Hemenster, and the man by the gate greeted me cordially, examined my ticket, registered me for the contest and granted me entrance, informing me that the big contest of the day would be starting in around ten to fifteen minutes. I noticed that the area was more crowded than it was during the practice contest; I certainly had more competition. Despite this, I felt more confident and ready than I did before thanks to my preparation.

The vampire was still in his usual spot, scaring anybody who dared approach him. It was quite comical; the area by the vampire was empty, while the rest of Hemenster was rather crowded. Heart thumping, I braced myself and stepped towards the vampire. He spun around, as I expected him to, and began cursing and hissing. I backed off, looking around me for places to put my garlic. I found an open pipe nearby, so, when I was confident that the vampire wasn't looking, I stuffed the opening of the pipe with garlic and walked away.

I pretended to search for a fishing spot, keeping a beady eye on the vampire. A minute passed, and I noticed him growing visibly distracted. His nostrils were flaring and he kept looking around. He eventually stood up and strolled away, retching and making some very loud complaints about the smell. I took his space as quickly as I could, my chest swelling with victory.

I practised with my new rod. The strength and durability of the rod improved my catches significantly, aided by the location. Eventually, an announcement was made, and the competition began. I used my first red vine worm, and sent the hook flying as far as it would go into the waters. I noticed people nearby catching glimpses of the rod; it went out much further than any of the others.

I focused all of my attention on the end of the rod, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of movement. After a few minutes, I felt a tug on the end of the rod, and I very suddenly pulled upwards with no hesitation. There was no struggle; the fish flew from the sea as I reeled it in. It was of a decent size; at the least, it was bigger than what I'd caught previously. It flopped around hopelessly. I put it aside and continued fishing. I spied on the catches of the others for a second. Their catches were bigger than mine at the moment, something which heavily affected my optimism.

A while passed, and I made a few more catches which were generally bigger than before. I still didn't feel like I was reaching the standard I was supposed to be reaching, so I continued. Most of the catches offered little resistance, although some of the bigger ones generally tended to require more effort to reel in.

All of a sudden, I felt a gigantic tug on the end of my rod which almost pulled me over. Using every morsel of my strength, I pulled upwards, something which exerted me massively. The fish wasn't budging. I was tempted to stop for a second to regain myself, but I reminded myself of the importance of perseverance and continued pulling. I reeled in as quickly as I could. I realised that the rod would have broken by now if I had a weaker one, but my current magic one was taking the strain well. The disturbance in the water was attracting nearby attention.

After a lot of pulling, yanking and grunting, I succeeded. The fish surfaced. The fish was well and truly a whopper. It was so big; I needed to carry it in my arms. I removed it from the hook, grinning widely. I was so thankful for the master fisherman's advice, because there was no way I would have caught that fish without it. I was positive that I was now a contender to win the contest today.

The contest went by, and I continued fishing, but there was no way I would be able to make a catch that would top the one I'd just made. The contest eventually ended and, just like last time, people went around and collected everyone's catches temporarily. I watched apprehensively as the winner was calculated by the people from the hut. After about three minutes, a man stepped up and cleared his throat. Tension filled the air, thick enough to be cut by a sword.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "We have worked you the winner of today's competition. The winner will win this trophy, along with an experience and money prize. The runners-up will win just the coins and experience prizes of a lesser amount." He held up a golden trophy of a fish with 'Hemenster Fishing Contest Winner' carved on it, along with the date. "In third place is..." He then named somebody, who stepped forward, shook the man's hand, took their prize, and stepped on the lowest of three podiums.

The runner-up was the vampire, which made me uneasy, I couldn't have won anything, unless I... the possibility was so unlikely I'd almost disregarded it. I waited patiently as the runner-up took their prize and their place on the podium.

"The winner of today's Hemenster contest is..." the man yelled. There was a moment of tense silence. "Mainiac97!" he announced. My heart skipped a beat. It didn't register instantly, but when it did my mind filled with joy. I walked forward, barely hearing the applause. The man handed me about 2,000gp and an experience lamp. He then handed over the golden trophy that I'd worked so hard for. I held it up, immensely pleased. I stepped on the highest podium, ignoring the vampire's sour stares and reflecting over my immense luck on making such a great catch. I wouldn't have managed it without the fishing expert's advice.

After the applause died down, we left the podium. I was informed that my win would be written in a book and I was eligible for the championship on New Year's Eve. I collected my catches, including the winning one, which I hoped I could display somehow. I left Hemenster, shaking the man by the gate's hand and wishing him a happy Thanksgiving as I did so. I walked back through Seer's Village, thinking of my good fortune and how pleased the dwarves would be. I walked into Catherby, through the market, and towards the dwarves' house, trying to ignore the people staring at my trophy.

I walked into the house, brandishing the trophy. The dwarves, still in their respective seats, looked out and cried with joy simultaneously as I offered them the trophy. "You did it!" one of them exclaimed happily. "I wasn't expectin' you to be doin' it. You're more than welcome to use our here tunnel. I'm no fishing expert or nothing, but I know that this trophy ain't too easy to win. How'd you do it?" I removed the winning fish from my bag. "What a big one," he commented. "Least I can do is take that to some special man who can stuff it for you to hang up or whatever. D'you want me to do that?" I nodded enthusiastically. He took the fish off me with great effort, hauling it into a corner before I could aid him. "Tell us the story of your winnin' as we take you into the tunnel." I followed them into the cave entrance, explaining the day's events as I did so. I didn't elaborate excessively on the vampire, since I didn't want to stir any fear or suspicion among the dwarves of the tunnel.

My first impressions of the tunnel weren't too positive. It was cold and dirty, with eerie noises echoing throughout. _But,_ I supposed. _It's an underground tunnel. It's not supposed to be warm and welcoming. It's no different from the other dwarven tunnels. Besides, we are under the White Wolf Mountain._ I suddenly felt very uncomfortable as that thought occurred to me. We were directly under the mountain. Was there ever a threat of wolves? Was the tunnels connected in any way to the tunnels and caverns of the mountain? I continued through the tunnel, ignoring the nagging discomfort at the back of my mind.

We passed a few small cave entrances that obviously led elsewhere. We passed a bar area that had been carved into the tunnel; dwarves sat at stone tables, drinking and laughing. I smiled as a wave of heat and the pleasant aroma of food and drink washed over me. This area was much brighter than the rest of the tunnel. We continued until we reached what was clearly the other end. I walked through the entrance into a hut that was similar to the one on the other end. I peeked out the door and saw what was unmistakably Taverley.

"I just want to thank you for your help," one of them told me. "Your kindness at completing that hard ol' quest for us dwarves has earned you the right to use our tunnel. So, thank you." I tried giving him his ticket back, but he refused, insisting that I keep it to access Hemenster at any time. He handed me a quest scroll. I thanked them, and left, reading the scroll. On it was written:

**Congratulations! You have completed Fishing Contest.**

**You have earned:**

**1 quest point**

**2437 fishing exp. points**

**Access to tunnel shortcut**

**Hemenster fishing pass**

I returned to Catherby, reminiscing over the day. It'd been eventful, challenging, worthwhile and fun, but it wasn't over. As I walked into the market, I noticed that the stalls had all been set aside and people rushed around, setting up the long table, chairs, plates, and so on. I spotted Amy11, and I embraced her from behind, surprising her pleasantly. I told her about my day and she told me about hers; she'd spent all day turkey-hunting in preparation for the big community feast. I entertained the possibility of telling her about the vampire, but I decided against it, thinking that it might spoil her evening. It was important that the werewolves knew as soon as possible, but, as far as anybody else was concerned, it would be best to tell them afterwards.

As the evening passed, the feast slowly came together, and soon the food was set out. Some dwarves arrived with barrels of different alcoholic drinks, chanting and singing. It wasn't long before the people arrived and the feast well and truly began. My eyes were enjoying a feast of their own; I couldn't help but eye up the plump, juicy turkeys, the plates of succulent, steaming vegetables, the hot pies, and the tankards of ale, stout and other colourful drinks. I bit into a turkey leg, savouring the beauty of the meat. Osrie1 came to sit next to me, greeting me happily, gulping away at a jug of mead. We both ate ravenously, savouring the delicious food.

I noticed that he was staring an awful lot at Amelia, who was sitting nearby, enjoying a conversation with Hunter. I remembered his first impressions of her when we first met the werewolves. I'd seen them talking occasionally since then, but he didn't seem to have the courage to get to know her properly. Perhaps he was intimidated by the fact that she was a werewolf. "You really like her, don't you?" I murmured quietly. He nodded, sighing. "I know you better than most, and I know that you can talk to her. You don't need to look at her from afar. This is a community feast; go up to them and join the conversation." He seemed slightly reassured by my words. Determination etched on his face, he walked around the table and towards her. Hunter seemed to almost sense his purpose. He greeted him, shook his hand and he was now a part of their chat.

A rather loud and ominous sound echoed from afar, loud enough to silence the feasting people momentarily. They continued talking, a feeling of discomfort evident. The sound was heard again; it could be distinguished as a roar and it seemed to be coming closer. People were now visibly distressed. A thumping noise could be heard and, very suddenly, something large and red smashed through the streets and into the market clearing, bellowing.

The thing overturned one of the feast tables. People scattered, screaming with fear. On closer inspection, I saw that our hostile attacker was a horned demon. I disliked demons greatly, but I was prepared to battle it to protect the others. I unsheathed Silverlight and ran forward, trying to remain calm. I stabbed the demon with the sword. It let out an unearthly shriek and turned to me. I expected it to attack, but, to my surprise, it didn't. Instead, it took me aback by transforming. Its arms and legs shrunk into its body and its red colour began changing. Confused, I watched the demon transform into a sickly-green, pulsating blob of green slime. Nonplussed, I thought about it momentarily before realising that the threat we were facing was much bigger than one demon. Right in front of me was the creature of fear created by none other than Evil Bob. These things were in ScapeRune, when we forced to go there. They transformed into what we were scared of in hopes of using that fear to defeat us. Clearly, somebody nearby, possibly myself, was scared of demons, even though my fear of demons wasn't very strong nowadays.

The creature approached me and began transforming again. It sprouted upwards and formed four limbs. It grew thick, matted, grey fur, claws, and fangs. The end result was a towering werewolf. I froze; obviously, I was mortally afraid of hostile werewolves (which was understandable). The werewolf snarled and snapped at me. I backed off, slightly frightened. I gathered my wits and swiped towards the creature. The sword pierced its body and it let off a squeal.

Aaron snuck up behind the creature, putting his finger to his mouth in an attempt to communicate to me the need for me to be silent. He sprung up suddenly and sliced the monster with his blade-on-a-chain weapon. The creature spun around rapidly, growling. It began transforming again, shrinking massively. The end result was very surprising; the creature turned into a duplicate of Aaron. I was nonplussed. Was Aaron scared of himself? The Aaron duplicate began the typical transformation between human and werewolf. It suddenly made more sense. Aaron was clearly frightened of himself in werewolf form, an understandable fear, considering the events of a couple of years ago.

Before anybody noticed Aaron's fear and revealed his identity as a werewolf, I ran forward to distract the creature again. However, Amy11 got there first and stabbed the fear creature. It turned around yet again and transformed. My immense shock at the revelation of Amy11's fear kept me rooted to the spot.

The creature had turned into me. I stared at myself, completely wordless. It was something I could not comprehend. Despite this, the transformation wasn't over. A small, green blob fell onto the floor and transformed into the form of Slinky, the attractive female member of the Glory Troopers. All of her attractive features had been amplified; her eyes were deeper, her form was curvier, and her breasts were larger. She walked over to my duplicate, and he proceeded to kiss the duplicate Slinky passionately.

It became clear to me what Amy11 was afraid of. She was obviously afraid of possible adultery, or potential for me to lose interest in her. I took an instant disliking to what my duplicate was doing. It was a hideous sight, and I desperately wanted it to end. I charged forward and stabbed the fear creature in the gut. It seemed to be sustaining some injury. Yet again, it began changing. It was like a vicious cycle.

Before the transformation into disgusting werewolf could finish, a blast of light flew from a nearby alleyway and completely bowled the creature over, forcing it back into its original green-blob form. From the shadows stepped Ilookgood99. I suddenly started shivering with anticipation. A visit from him was both a blessing and a curse. It meant that we were safe, but it was also foreboding. The blob slithered towards Ilookgood99 and began transforming. A smile formed on my lips as I realised what was about to happen. The creature stopped suddenly mid-transformation and began letting off an unearthly noise which hurt my ears. Red light burst from its slimy body, forcing me to cover my eyes. I heard an explosion, and when I opened my eyes, the creature was gone, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes. Amy11 collapsed with relief, sobbing silently.

Ilookgood99 stepped towards me and shook my hand. I returned the gesture vigorously, if not slightly reluctantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, we heard a loud voice from overhead. "People of Catherby!" the voice boomed. "I come seeking revenge!" The flickering image of a face appeared in the sky; it was the unmistakeable cat face of Evil Bob of ScapeRune. His eyes were red, something which scared me more than anything else. "I do not have anything against all of you, only two in particular, two people who slipped from my grasp previously. Despite this, being an evil cat, I will inflict pain upon you all and then take these two when the time is right." He was talking about me and Amy11, since we were the only two from Catherby who'd been taken to ScapeRune years ago. "I've waited years. Something in particular, some voice in the sky, is reminding me of my thirst for vengeance, a thirst I'd almost forgotten about until now. Expect to see me again eventually. I wish you a happy Thanksgiving." The image in the sky vanished.

"Mainiac97," Ilookgood99 said urgently. "I am scared of something that Evil Bob's fear creature cannot recreate, but must try to regardless. It cannot cope with the pressure and is destroyed. It offers an advantage, but it is not a permanent advantage, that much I can see. Think about the little things you learn about your past. Everything you learn and think about brings me closer to the moment I've been waiting for. Consider the words of the prophecy on Entrana; remember to heed the words of wise men, beware the man of brown and green, and keep in mind that the shadows of the past will continue to haunt you. What has just passed is an example of that. Goodbye for now." Ilookgood99 then teleported away, leaving me with nothing but my worried thoughts.

People gathered again and tried to enjoy the remainder of the feast, a mutual feeling of concern evident. I tried deciphering Ilookgood99's reminders of the prophecy, but my brain felt like a wrung sponge, so my capacity for thinking was limited. As great a day it had been, it'd made me think an awful lot about the things that were to come. I clearly still had plenty of battles to fight. The threat of the vampire remained; the thoughts and possibilities still plagued me. Evil Bob's reappearance was very harrowing. ScapeRune was another world entirely, and it was very dangerous. His creatures were not just dangerous, but very revealing. They unveiled people's deepest fears and secrets. I knew that I needed to have a conversation with Amy11 about her fears.

Evil Bob must have been possessed again for him to have red eyes and to be hearing the 'voice in the sky' once more. To what purpose was he being possessed? It was too much of a coincidence that Fiend had appeared last year, the shark had been possessed, and that Evil Bob was now possessed. What was it leading up to? I had a lot on my plate, in more ways than one. I decided to try my best to push the negative thoughts to the back of my head; after all, it was Thanksgiving, and I'd won the Hemenster contest today.

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><p><em>Hope you liked that. A very foreboding chapter. My question to you is, what do you think of my take of the Fishing Contest quest? I've changed the workings of Hemenster, the contest and the quest itself massively, since I feel that if I stuck too closely to canon, the chapter would be boring. Also, what would the fear creature turn into if it approached you? Just to clarify that I was originally inspired to make the fear creature by the Boggarts from Harry Potter. That's where the original idea came from.<em>

_So, happy Thanksgiving again, and I'll see you soon._

_Next chapter, Mainiac97 learns an useful new skill._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	20. Chapter 20: Summoned

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Welcome to chapter 20. This is an introduction to the summoning skill in my story, something which may (or may not) be an important element later on. I've leaned on the new version of 'Wolf Whistle', although I've changed some elements of the quest and the skill as a whole. Hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 20: Summoned<strong>_

I sat back in my seat, laughing at a joke recited by one of the dwarves. They all roared with mirth, singing and chanting. I took another gulp of my dwarven stout, relishing the strong taste. The alcohol was strong, but I was careful not to drink too much, unlike my dwarven companions; despite this, they weren't falling over or being ill, although they were steadily growing more boisterous and their speech was slurring slowly. Dwarves had a very strong resistance to alcohol, and some could drink all night with no more than a minor headache in the morning.

Following my victory in the fishing competition, I'd gained the friendship of the dwarves, as well as access to their tunnel under the White Wolf Mountain. Being able to access Taverley without braving the dangers of the mountain was a massive help to me; I was now able to explore Taverley regularly. There was also a bar area in the tunnel itself, so I occasionally ate and drank with the dwarves in this area. They were great company. Their stories were fascinating, their sing-songs were loud and jolly, and their sense of humour was brilliant. The pleasant, mingling smell of meat and smoke filled the area and traditional music was being played in the corner, creating a very relaxing atmosphere. I was respected, not only because of my fishing achievement that benefited the dwarves of the tunnel, but because of the tales I could tell based off my own experience.

The autumn was blown away along with all of the fallen leaves, and winter was ushered in quickly. Christmas was fast approaching, something which I loved. It was a great time of the year and I savoured it annually. While it was slightly too early to justify putting up decorations, the exciting anticipation was evident. While it hadn't snowed yet, it was still bitterly cold, and fishing out in the open was slightly more challenging. Hemenster had made a cover and created fires to make fishing there more pleasant, however.

While thinking of Hemenster, I thought of my fishing achievement briefly. It had seemed impossible before the competition that I would even register as a runner-up, let alone win the prized trophy. Osrie1 and Amy11, despite their supportive nature, could hardly believe it also; they meant no disrespect to me, but I hardly had the flair for fishing to win such a competition. Despite this, I'd won it, and they couldn't be more pleased. I put it down to good preparation and, more importantly, luck, since there was no other reasonable explanation. I'd attempted the competition again but hadn't gone close to winning it for a second time, despite using the same techniques. I received second place for one practice competition, but that didn't count towards the championship on New Year's Eve and didn't help me win another gold trophy.

As I thought of the competition and the feast that happened afterwards, my brain was plagued momentarily with concern. Some rather harrowing revelations had occurred on that day involving the enemies I had to worry myself with. The first of them was, of course, none other than Evil Bob. As ridiculous as having a cat as an enemy felt, it was still worth my concern because of his power and his army. The creatures that transformed themselves into their enemy's fear were dangerous and worthy opponents. Their weakness seemed to be fears that they were too powerful to match, such as whatever Ilookgood99 feared, something that would need to be taken advantage of.

The discovery of the vampire in Hemenster had raised one massive red flag. The werewolves had been alerted and they suspected that there were more nearby. They'd kept a close eye on Hemenster, in case that vampire in particular returned. The first day they did this, the vampire arrived and quickly fled; the werewolves failed to catch him. Since then, there'd been no sign of him. This was rather suspicious. Why was he actively trying to avoid the werewolves? There was something unsettling happening.

There was also the constant threat of Fiend. I hadn't seen or heard of him since New Year's Day, when he, for whatever reason, stopped the destruction of the Wizard's Tower and captured the evil wizard Greyzag. His goals were unclear, his interests obscure, and his power unmeasurable. I had no idea how to prepare myself for any potential confrontation with him, since I wasn't sure what his capabilities were. The fact that he had the God Rune threw everything up into the air.

My musings were interrupted by the approaching form of Austri the dwarf. He was the brother of Vestri, and, after getting to know them, I could now tell them apart. They were friendly dwarves, and I wondered what he wanted. "Mainiac97," he boomed. "Great to be seein' you, friend. I was wonderin' if you could help me, or help a friend I should say. He's in a bit of a pickle and needs a strong adventurin' man to help him. I thought of you in a flash. You willing? I see you're havin' a good time here, so don't feel under any pressure or nothin'. I can find someone else in Catherby if need be." I wanted to stay and continue drinking, but curiosity and concern overpowered my enjoyment and I decided to leave. Austri offered his thanks and some directions to his friend's house in Taverley before leaving.

I strolled through Taverley, shivering because of the bitterly-cold wind that had suddenly pierced my skin. Taverley was a very peaceful village as opposed to Burthorpe, their neighbours. I knew not of Burthorpe's situation, but all I knew was that they seemed to be stuck in a constant struggle. I always saw warriors patrolling, entering and leaving the tavern in the eastern side of Taverley, and I occasionally saw injured men on beds being wheeled past. The finely-crafted white buildings in Taverley, however, seemed to emanate peace and relaxation. I followed Vestri's directions, stopping outside the relevant house. The door was partly open. Upon hearing my footsteps, somebody ran by the door and opened it fully.

This man had bright-blue eyes and a brown beard; his head was bald, however. He wore the same long, white robes as the other druids, and he held an air of wisdom around him. His forehead was creased with worry, and I suspected that this worry was related to the reason why I'd been sent to his house.

"Hello," he greeted. "Are you here because of the dwarf?" I nodded. "Great. I could use the help of an adventurer right now. My name is Pikkupstix. My friends, Scalectrix and Bowloftrix, have gone to the well and haven't returned for hours. I fear that it is in connection with the trouble in Burthorpe. Would you, an acclaimed adventurer, have a look for me?"

"Yeah, certainly," I replied, feeling uneasy. Anything in connection to the apparent trouble in Burthorpe couldn't be good. Relief overcame Pikkupstix's expression, and he shook my hand.

"Thank you," he smiled. "Hopefully, everything will be fine and nothing will go wrong in the run-up to Christmas. The well is that way." He pointed in a certain direction. I bade the man farewell and followed his directions.

I walked briskly among the houses, searching for the aforementioned well. I eventually found it. Lying next to the well, clearly unconscious, was a female druid with brown hair tied up with a band of grass. She had a few cuts on her face and her robes were slightly bloodied, but there didn't seem to be anything life-threatening. I tried rousing her in vain. _What shall I do?_ I panicked. I contemplated running for help before deciding on a more practical method beforehand. I opened my bag, and searched for my potion kit (which I didn't use all too often nowadays). I opened it, and found a vial half-filled with a healing tonic. I poured some into her mouth. She spluttered before sitting up quickly, slightly dazed.

"Where am I?" she mumbled. "Who are you? Where is he?"

"You're by the well in Taverley, and I am Mainiac97, an adventurer who is supposed to be helping you," I assured her. "Is this person you're referring to called Bowloftrix?" She sat up suddenly, looking stricken.

"Those trolls!" she screeched. She tapped around her body briefly. "They've taken my stuff! Worse yet, they've taken Bowloftrix!"

"What happened?" I gasped.

"We were just here, collecting some water," she explained. "Some trolls crawled out of that well, taking us by surprise. There were five smaller ones and one big one. They knocked out poor Bowloftrix and started dragging him into the well. I summoned a spirit wolf and a dreadfowl to fight them off, since I only had those particular pouches with me, but it wasn't sufficient. They overpowered the creatures and hit me. That's the last thing I remember."

"At least you're okay," I soothed her, since she was starting to hyperventilate. She seemed to speak a lot of jargon involving pouches, animals and summoning, but I didn't persist. I did wonder why there were trolls in Taverley. From what I'd heard in tales and books, trolls were brutish creatures that lived in caves and were uncivilised. I presented my question to her, and she explained that the trolls lived just beyond Burthorpe and they were at war with Burthorpe, although why they were bothering the druids was beyond her. Perhaps they'd dug a tunnel to the well, or had snuck into the well in a previous battle with Burthorpe. It did make an awful lot of sense, and it certainly explained the state of war Burthorpe was under.

"Let's get back to Pikkupstix and let's talk to him about what happened. He might have some ideas. Let's not do anything rash," I said. She nodded in agreement and we walked back to Pikkupstix's house. Pikkupstix invited us back into his house, looking shocked. We entered his house and sat down on some comfortable chairs. While Scalectrix explained the goings-on to Pikkupstix, I looked around at his house. It was very cosy, to say the least; a kitchen and sitting area made up most of the house, although there were stairs leading up and some more leading down. There was a tree growing upwards into the ceiling. It did demonstrate how nature-orientated the people of Taverley were.

"I would offer you something to eat or drink, but we really can't dilly-dally," Pikkupstix groaned, looking very frustrated and upset. "We need to think of a plan of action to rescue Bowloftrix. I don't want to anger the trolls generally, so I want to think of something which will scare them away instead of fighting them. Perhaps they've got a tunnel leading back to their troll lands, maybe they'll flee into Burthorpe and be beaten by the men there, or maybe they'll go into the well and drown themselves. Regardless, we don't want to have to fight them, because it could cost us our lives and it could anger creatures that are already at war with our neighbours. We will, of course, need to summon some things to defend ourselves with (some spirit wolves will certainly suffice there), but we need something bigger than the trolls to scare them. A wolf or dreadfowl won't suffice."

"What about a wolpertinger?" Scalectrix suggested. "Their natural defensive mechanism is to create an aura of fear."

"That might work," Pikkupstix pondered. "However, if that main troll was as big as you suggest, trolls might not be duped by a wolpertinger, due to their stupidity." His eyed widened. "How about a giant wolpertinger?" he said, almost excitedly. "That'll do the trick. It'll have a much bigger aura of fear than an ordinary wolpertinger. It's not easy to summon, but if we all chip in our efforts, we could summon it. I should have enough shards and the right charms. What else do we need?" He frowned for a second, before pulling a book from his robes and reading from it. "We, obviously, need the wolf bones for the spirit wolves. We need white hare meat. There are some white hares living on the outskirts of the mountain, away from the wolves. So I shouldn't have to buy anything from the hunting shop. We also need the ancient wolf bone amulet. Stikklebrix has it; I think he's out on the mountain right now. The book says we need an embroidered pouch instead of a normal one. Scalectrix, could you maybe find one of those?" She nodded in affirmative before leaving.

Pikkupstix turned to me, grinning. "Sorry for smiling in such unfortunate circumstances, I've just realised that you have no idea what I've been talking about," he chuckled.

"I've followed your words, but I don't understand why you need all these things," I replied, slightly amused.

"We, as druids, practise a skill called summoning, something you may or may not have heard of," he told me. "It entails summoning creatures using a series of objects. There's much more than that to it, but I'll explain to you later. You'll need to exercise the skill to help us. Could you do some things for me, please?" I nodded. "Thank you. First of all, could you set these traps up by the edge of the mountain?" He passed me two traps which were essentially pads which would activate lethal spikes using springs. "They are hare traps and should catch hares for the wolpertinger. Make sure to hide it under some snow, so it's not stolen, or spotted by the hares it's trying to catch. Could you also look for my assistant and friend, Stikklebrix? He's out on the mountain now. He wouldn't have gone far; a druid like him wouldn't have. While you're on your way, could you defeat some wolves and take their bones, please? You'll speed up the process of saving Bowloftrix from the trolls massively. Thanks." I nodded and darted out the door, mulling my tasks over in my mind.

I approached the mountain and set down the traps, covering them with snow, as instructed. I'd never noticed any hares on the mountain before, but, then again, I hadn't spent as much time on the mountain as the druids, and apparently the hares appeared on the outskirts of the mountain and not any further up the mountain. I walked further up the mountain, feeling slightly anxious and making sure to avoid any caves.

I passed a white wolf eventually. It eyed me suspiciously, growling. I stopped and stared back at it, bracing myself for an attack. Some time passed, and I decided that the wolf didn't want to attack me. I debated leaving the wolf that didn't appear to mean me any harm, but I did need the bones, so I also considered making the first move of attack. I didn't need to; it barked suddenly and pounced in my direction. I held the beast back, struggling against its jaw. It snapped furiously, roaring. I sunk Silverlight into its flesh, causing it to whine with pain. It persevered in pushing against me relentlessly. After about twenty seconds, it was weakened enough for me to overpower it and successfully kill it. Its corpse fell to the floor.

I waited a second, hoping that the body would transform into the meat, fur and bones I expected it to. It didn't, forcing me to skin, cut and open it myself to retrieve the bones I needed. It was curious. The majority of the time back when I started in RuneScape, everything I killed turned into their 'drops' naturally. Nowadays, that rarely happened. It did happen on occasion, but it was scarce. It wasn't something I'd picked up on or something I'd ever cared about an awful lot (since manually retrieving what I wanted to reap from the kill didn't require an awful lot of time and effort), but I still found it curious. I decided, the next time I saw Ilookgood99, I'd ask him. I continued up the mountain path with my bones, shivering and thinking about what had just happened.

I suspected that the lack of automatically giving me my 'drops' had to do with the vile potion that Master Samuel, James after him and potentially Fiend tried making. It was the same potion which stopped humans from respawning after death and meddled with the weather and natural light. I'd once experienced respawning after being killed by the hands of Madrey1; death wasn't altogether too serious back then. Perhaps it was a sign of Fiend making the potion again, but I wasn't in a position to make assumptions.

I killed another wolf, finding myself with a satisfying number of wolf bones. Eventually, I came across who I assumed was Stikklebrix poking around a cave. I entered reluctantly, keeping a close eye for pitfalls or holes underneath me. Stikklebrix wore the druid white robes and had an aged bone on a string around his neck. I tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but are you Stikklebrix?" I asked.

"Yes, yes I am," he answered, sounding slightly puzzled. "Why? Do you need me?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "Or, Pikkupstix needs you, I should say, and very urgently too. A friend named Bowloftrix has been taken by some trolls, and he needs you back with that amulet." Seeming slightly shaken by the news, Stikklebrix agreed to return with me.

We walked back down the mountain. On the way, I explained the situation to him in greater detail. We came across another few wolves. None of them attacked us, except for one, who I slew with ease, much to the druid's disgust. After removing the bones, we continued. I picked up the traps given to me by Pikkupstix to find two dead hares caught in them. As I removed the hares, my olive-green book from Tutorial Island flew from my bag and informed me that I was now a level 2 in the skill of hunting. This pleasantly surprised me; I was distinctly aware that hunting was a skill (due to people like Drake Fortune practicing it), but it had never occurred to me to try it.

We arrived back at Pikkupstix's house, and he greeted us cordially. I gave him the bones and the dead hares. He thanked me. "Stikklebrix, could you possibly skin these animals and get their meat ready? We're summoning a giant wolpertinger," Pikkupstix asked politely. "Scalectrix is preparing the embroidered pouch downstairs. When you're done, you can join her." Stikklebrix nodded and took the bodies of the hares to the kitchen. Pikkupstix grabbed my shoulder and led me towards the stairs leading downwards.

Down the stairs was a dungeon of sorts. The floor was tiled with black tiles and the walls and ceiling were made of stone. Spiky rocks hung from the ceiling. There was no lighting in this room; the only light came from a massive, rugged stone jutting from the ground. There were cracks all over this stone, with light glowing from the cracks. A very distinctive wolf shape had been carved into the side of the rock. Scalectrix stood next to the obelisk, holding a large pouch and murmuring incantations. Pikkupstix smiled at my dumbfounded expression.

"This is an obelisk of summoning," he explained. "This is a crucial part of the summoning skill. The spirit wolf has become something of a symbol for summoning generally, which is why it has been carved into the side of the obelisk. The skill, as I've mentioned before, is based off summoning creatures to aid you in a variety of tasks. It's a fascinating branch of magic. You see, there is a plane of existence (like the Land of Snow but unmoving) very close to ours which contains all of these brilliant creatures. A certain magical energy from this plane exists naturally in RuneScape. It's this energy which allows us to summon these creatures. A particular pouch filled with the energy and life of a particular creature is needed to summon the creature in question. Each creature has an individual pouch, and every pouch is made using an obelisk. When the pouch is opened, the creature can be summoned. These creatures will be obedient to us, and will exist for a limited time only. Many years ago, practisers of summoning had to use complex spells to harness the energy so they could imbue pouches with the life of their desired creature. Since then, these obelisks have been built. They channel the naturally-existing energy so anybody can do it at any time. The history is interesting, but we have little time and I worry for the safety of Bowloftrix, so let's move along quickly.

"This obelisk is rare, one of only a few. Small ones are common and are used to recharge summoning points, something I'll describe to you later. This big one allows you to make pouches, and, from that, make scrolls. To make a pouch, there are four things you'll always need: an empty pouch, spirit shards, charms, and other, differing objects that depend on what you're summoning." He pulled some objects from his pocket. "This pouch is a normal, typical pouch that is used to summon most things," he informed me, gesturing with a plain, white pouch. "Some more complex ones exist for bigger and stronger animals, like that embroidered pouch." He showed me some small, glowing, fascinating crystals. "These are spirit shards," he said. "These are always needed and always used, although differing amounts are normally needed. To summon a spirit wolf, the easiest creature to summon, you need seven shards." He then showed me some curious golden charms with odd markings on them. "These are charms. Different ones exist to create different pouches. This one, the gold charm, is used for the spirit wolf, and you'll need only one per pouch.

"You'll also need wolf bones for the spirit wolf," he clarified, showing me the bones I gave him earlier. "Making pouches for different creatures require different objects, like the giant wolpertinger pouch requires that white hare meat. You may need to learn and use some incantations to make and use pouches for more advanced creatures, but you needn't worry about that yet.

"First of all, put the bones, one charm, and seven shards in the pouch," Pikkupstix instructed. I obliged. "Now, hold the open end of the pouch against the obelisk, touch the wolf shape on it and will for the pouch to be infused. Like in magic, willpower is important in summoning." I followed his instructions, closing my eyes and casting my thoughts to creating a pouch. There was a flash of light, and the pouch glowed. It inflated, there was a gust of wind, I heard a howl, and the glowing stopped. A depicting of a wolf's head had been burnt into the pouch. It felt empty, but it crackled with a strange force. Pikkupstix's face split into a grin.

"You succeeded," he cried, patting me on the back. "You didn't use summoning points; however, when you use the pouch to summon the creature, it'll use a certain amount of points, and that creature will stay there for a set amount of time. Summoning points deplete, depending on how many creatures you summon and for how long they stay there for. You currently have one point, so you can use that point to summon a wolf. After a set amount of time, it's gone; if you have more points, you can either summon another wolf or keep your first wolf for longer."

A shout from the other druids signified that they were finished and they needed his attention. "I'll be back with you soon. We're now imbuing the pouch for the giant wolpertinger," he explained. "Make another few pouches." I nodded and he gave me all of the bones walked away. I repeated the same process another three times, resulting in four infused spirit wolf pouches. In that time, by olive-green book had told me that my level in summoning was now 2.

Pikkupstix returned to me, brandishing a different, much bigger, much more ornate pouch triumphantly. "We succeeded," he announced. "Let me show you one more thing and we'll be ready to leave. You can, of course, use that pouch to summon the relevant creature, but you can use the pouch, or the life energy within the pouch, I should say, to create scrolls. These scrolls will allow the same creature summoned from another pouch to do something special. For the spirit wolf, it will be a howl scroll, the howl being a special attack relevant to the wolf.

"Hold the end of the imbued pouch to the obelisk, touch the wolf symbol, will for the pouch to turn into scrolls, but, this time, you must open the pouch as well." I followed his instructions enthusiastically, wishing strongly that I would be able to make the scrolls that would help me so much. There was another flash of light, and many blue scrolls with the same burnt depicting of the wolf's head on them lay in my palm instead of the pouch.

"There we are. We are ready. Are we all fit to leave?" Pikkupstix asked. We all nodded. "Let us make haste. I will hold the giant wolpertinger pouch. On our way to the well, we can discuss a plan of action." We left swiftly, butterflies in our stomachs and pouches in our hands.

We agreed that the druids (including Bowloftrix, assuming he was still conscious and able to help) would summon the giant wolpertinger, while I would use two spirit wolves with my two summoning points to distract the trolls and keep them away for a few minutes. Pikkupstix described to me how one would normally be able to summon something. Essentially, the pouch had to be opened and, similar to casting spells in magic, willpower and mental strength had to be used to summon the familiar (an interesting term used to describe a summoned creature). As we approached the well, I went through everything I'd learnt today about this new skill. It was rather challenging stuff, and, while I was in no way obliged to do it, I wanted to help and I appreciated the challenge.

We arrived by the well. The rope and bucket had vanished, so we couldn't climb down using that. Scalectrix peered into the well. "I see that a portion of the side of the well has gone, and there's an opening there," she described. "I see several chunks of the well above that opening gone. The trolls must have created those holes climbing up the side of the well. We can use them to climb down. We can put the pouches in Mainiac97's adventurer bag so they don't fall." We all agreed with that, and the pouches went into my bag momentarily. I carefully climbed down to the opening, dropping in as elegantly as I could. It was an opening to a tunnel of sorts. The others followed suit. We recollected the pouches and walked down the tunnel, a mutual uneasiness and concern evident.

The tunnel wasn't very long, and it wasn't long before we approached the mouth of a cave of sorts. We heard a lot of grunts, growls and mumblings; the trolls were obviously in here. We hid in the shadows and peered into the cave. I saw a druid tied up, beaten and bruised, sitting in an empty pot. I assumed that he was Bowloftrix. The pot was surrounded by big, green, ugly monstrosities that I could assume were only the trolls. They were hideous; they wore filthy rags and they smelt of unmentionable things. They held big clubs that would hurt us if we were beaten with them. There were five smaller ones that were weaker than me (not by an awful lot), and one bigger one who was considerably stronger than any of us. While I felt like I could fight them individually, including the big one, all of them together would easily overpower and destroy me, an unpleasant prospect. Beyond these trolls was another tunnel opening which I assumed led to the home of the trolls.

Pikkupstix counted to three and we revealed ourselves, making battle-cries. The trolls roared, smashing their clubs into the floor. "Puny humans!" the big one spat. "We trolls crush puny humans and crunch bones!" The stupid creatures charged forward. The druids took advantage of the distraction to untie Bowloftrix and hurriedly explain to him what they were attempting. They gathered behind me and began chanting something, all holding the giant wolpertinger pouch.

On the verge of panicking, I screwed up my eyes, and opened one of the spirit wolf pouches I had. I willed for the energy to activate. There was a blinding flash of white light, and particles flew together from seemingly nowhere to form a handsome white wolf. I suddenly felt drained. The wolf snarled and snapped towards the trolls, forcing them back a few steps. I repeated the process, creating another wolf. It drained me even more, and I was now aware that I had no more summoning points. I held up one of the scrolls I'd created earlier. It vanished, and one of the wolves released an ear-shattering howl which forced back the trolls.

I played games with the trolls using the wolves for about a minute and a half. Eventually, the big troll used his club to kill one of the wolves. The particles of the wolf separated, and it was gone. I used another howl scroll, something which weakened me further. The trolls, not to be daunted, surrounded the other wolf, preparing to beat it to death. Just in time, the druids all yelled out in victory as they succeeded in summoning the giant wolpertinger.

There was a bright light, brighter than any of the others. Hundreds of thousands of particles flew together to form the strangest creature I'd ever laid eyes upon. It was humongous, with the body of a rabbit, yet the antlers of a deer, the wings of a giant bird and the teeth of a werewolf. It screeched, releasing an indescribable aura of fear. I knew not to fear it, but I still felt like curling up and crying. Obviously, it terrified the dim-witted trolls, who all dropped their clubs and fled the scene. They ran down the other tunnel, and the giant wolpertinger chased them. The giant wolpertinger jumped upwards and crashed into the roof of the tunnel. It crumbled, and its particles separated and it vanished as the mouth of the tunnel collapsed, sealing the trolls in.

We all huddled together, whooping in victory. We collected the clubs of the trolls, climbed out of the well, and walked back to Pikkupstix's house, ecstatic with relief. After resting and celebrating our victory, Bowloftrix went to see a medic to make sure he was okay and Scalectrix, joined by Stikklebrix, left with the giant club to present it to authorities in Burthorpe. If the trolls had the ability to enter a well in Taverley, Burthorpe needed to be aware. I was left with Pikkupstix.

"Thank you," he beamed, shaking my hand. "Your help has been crucial to the rescue. As a reward, I will give you a big number of charms, spirit shards and other things, to get you started in the skill of summoning. You've proven today that you have potential to be a great master of the skill in the future. You see, my business is selling these objects. I will give you a discount for any summoning items you may want to purchase, and you are allowed to use the big summoning obelisk downstairs. You may want to use it soon, to replenish your summoning points, since the big ones are capable of doing that. You can take one of these clubs as a trophy of your victory." He handed me a club. "Christmas is approaching; I wish you a merry Christmas and the best of luck in your future endeavours." It registered in my quest book that the quest was complete. I thanked Pikkupstix and left, feeling very satisfied.

It had been a very eventful and productive day. I'd come across the hunting skill and the summoning skill today, and I planned on exercising both of them. I was glad that Bowloftrix was alive and well. I was just concerned for the welfare of Burthorpe and even Taverley because of the threat of the trolls. If there were a lot of them near Burthorpe, the threat of attack was constant, especially if they were capable of digging into wells. Despite the concern, I was glad that the rescue was successful, and I looked forward to the upcoming Christmas period.

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><p><em>Hope you liked that. What did you think of my presentation of the summoning skill? Do you think the trolls are a potential threat? What are your thoughts on the remake of the original quest as a part of the Burthorpe-Taverley redesign? There are some things for you to chew over. I'd love to hear your feedback.<em>

_Guys, if you weren't aware, I've written and uploaded the first chapter of a new RuneScape story called 'Doomsday'. As the title suggests, the story is basically me imagining what doomsday would look like in RuneScape. I'd love it if you checked it out when you have a moment. Also, don't forget that I do have a Twitter account (username Mainiac97) and I do update it regularly, so check that out if it interests you._

_On a side-note, I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey recently, and I enjoyed it and found it inspirational. I'm mentioning it because it's in a similar fantasy category as RuneScape, and might be something that'll interest RuneScape fans. Have any of you seen it? If so, what are your thoughts? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions._

_Next chapter is my annual Christmas special. **  
><strong>_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	21. Chapter 21: Christmas in Catherby

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Merry Christmas 2012, everyone! This is my Christmas special this year. To make a change from previous years, the plot of this year's special starts on Christmas day instead of before. It's loosely based off the Jagex 2012 Christmas event 'A Stray in a Manger' with some pretty big changes. Hope you enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 21: Christmas in Catherby<strong>_

"Wake up, wake up!" I heard a familiar voice yell in my ear. "It's Christmas!" I opened my eyes blearily, seeing the outline of Amy11 hopping around the room energetically. She was wearing a nice red dress for the occasion, more formal than her day-to-day attire. I sat up almost instantly, feeling excitement fill the pit of my stomach. I saw a pile of presents at the foot of my bed. My first instinct was to jump to them and rip them open like I'd done in previous years, but I decided that, this year, I would savour them, since Amy11 was here also. I decided to get dressed first. I went into a side room with my clothes and left the door slightly open, so I could still have a conversation with Amy11 as I changed.

"Have you opened yours yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," she replied. "I've got them with me in a bag, so we can open our presents together. Perhaps we can leave the presents from each other last and we can open them together." I made a grunt of agreement, which was only a grunt because I was bending over to put on my boots and wasn't able to make a clearer noise of agreement or excitement.

As I changed, I reflected over the build-up to Christmas. It snowed, even in Catherby. Catherby was a place that always looked like a holiday resort, regardless of the weather. Therefore, a snow-covered, fully-decorated Catherby looked unusual. I enjoyed the snow but I refrained from playing in it on the sands of Catherby, since snow and damp sand didn't make nice snowball-fighting. The decorations were beautiful; Christmas trees and some special Wintumber trees dotted the village, and a particularly large, elaborately-decorated tree stood in the centre of the farming market. Tinsel and glittery things hung in between and inside the houses, and snowmen made by the children and adults alike stood everywhere. I did spend a lot of time nowadays hunting after the events in the Taverley well, much to the delight of the werewolves, natural hunters. I kept my kills in my larder; I discovered that white hare meat had a very delicious taste to it, very refined and different to other, more plain meats. I also practised summoning, spending some time in the house of Pikkupstix, who was very helpful. After I finished my changing and musing, I returned to my bedroom and began opening my presents.

I'd received a pleasant variety of gifts from different people. The dwarves from the tunnel had gifted me with two kegs of dwarven stout, an alcohol I'd developed a taste for. Austri and Vestri had given me my stuffed fish (the one I caught in the competition) wrapped with the kegs, along with a stand to put it in. They'd spoken to a specialist to get it done. I put the fish and stand aside, intending on displaying it. I received two presents from Osrie1; one of them was a joke present, considering how much of a wannabe clown Osrie1 was, and the other was my actual gift. The joke present was a raw fish; he was making a joke of my surprise victory in the competition. The damp fish was dropped, where it rolled across the floor. I picked it up and put it aside, deciding that my larder was the place for it. His real present to me was a deluxe fisherman's kit, which contained different sorts of bait, a net repairs package, pots of different rod polish (which would complement the already-pretty magic wood), and more.

The druids I'd befriended in Taverley sent me free summoning items and a comical Christmas card featuring a spirit wolf and a wolpertinger wearing Santa hats. Pikkupstix in particular sent me a guide of the animals that could be summoned, with a note attached letting me know that it was a book designed for the book pocket of my bag. The werewolves individually had sent me gifts. Aaron had sent me a harpoon tailored especially for hunting sharks, Harry and Hunter had sent me hunting supplies and Amelia had sent me a book on hunting techniques. As I thought of Amelia, I thought of the friendship blossoming between her and Osrie1. He'd been taken by her after meeting her for the first time, and they'd been talking quite a bit in the last month or so. He definitely had a soft spot for her, and, despite her tough exterior, I was certain she had a soft spot for him too.

I received a few gifts from my friends in both Varrock and Falador, mainly money. A few exceptions were Sir Amik Varze (who sent me an experience lamp containing a decent amount of experience), Haru Axe-man (who sent me a bottle of special fluid for making armour gleam), and Capablanca (who sent me a book on the theory of fishing, since he was made aware by Osrie1 of my victory). I received extra spin tickets from some people, so I had five extra spins. Amy11 had received a few spin tickets from acquaintances, too, so it was clearly a popular gift.

I eventually came to the annual gift from Santa Claus himself and the Ice Queen. Along with the normal box of Christmas sweets and biscuits, there was a letter there wishing me a merry Christmas and informing me that there was going to be feast in the Land of Snow that evening at 7:00pm to late in the night, and that I was invited. Amy11 received the same gift. There was a teleportation tab attached, which I would use to get to and from the feast. The tab was set to disintegrate tomorrow. The letter had also, ironically, been signed by Jack Frost, as was customary. I remembered his attempt at ruining Christmas last year and in previous years, and I remembered his failure each and every time. I knew that Jack Frost would not invite me to any party, Christmas or not.

After opening my annual package of fruit and vegetables from Farmer Fred, I came across a formal-looking letter with a real seal on it. After carefully opening it, I read it aloud to Amy11. "Dear Mainiac97," I read. "We extend you Christmas wishes on this happy day. We have heard of your feats and are aware that you are exploring and questing in the area. We live in Camelot (an area east of Seer's Village) in Camelot Castle. We have a quest for you, with good rewards. We kindly ask that you show up at the castle if you are interested in the quest. If not, we ask that you reply telling us so, so we know to look for another quest candidate. Again, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year. Yours sincerely, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Upon finishing reading the letter, Amy11 congratulated me. I considered it for a second; the quest did sound interesting and King Arthur, whoever he was or whatever he ruled, sounded important. It explained the purpose and the inhabitants of the castle at the end of Seer's Village, at least.

Eventually, we'd opened all of our presents, except for the presents from each other. "You open mine first," I encouraged. She shook her head, insisting that I open mine first, but I silenced her with a kiss. "Go on," I teased. "I know you want to." She sighed in defeat and picked up the wrapping. She pulled the paper off slowly, and I watched in anticipation. The wrapping fell away and revealed her present from me; it was a golden bracelet that I'd paid the dwarves to make. Carved into it were hearts and wolves. I'd asked for the wolves to be carved into it for two reasons. Firstly, wolves were a symbol of bravery and strength, and, despite their rather wild and sometimes violent nature, they were beautiful creatures. Also, they symbolised the nature of how we eventually became together in that cave in the White Wolf Mountain. She squealed with delight and flew herself towards me, knocking me over in an embrace.

"Thank you! Thank you! It's beautiful!" she beamed. "I will wear it all the time and I shall take pride in doing so. Now it's your turn to open your present." I picked up my present, something rather flat. I ripped off the wrapping and I saw my present. It was a painting of us. It was a beautiful painting, made with inks, dyes and fruit juices that swirled together to become an image of us embracing. It was bordered with gold, and a ruby was put into the top. I crushed her in a tight hug and kissed her forehead. "Thank you very much," I murmured. "It's an amazing present, and I will keep it by my bedside and look at it every night." True to my word, I put the painting on my bedside, where it fit perfectly for me to be able to admire it in my bed.

After discussing our presents, Amy11 went into the kitchen to prepare something for us to eat and drink before we left. I took the opportunity to take my stuffed fish and its stand from the dwarf brothers and put it up in my trophy room. After I did so, I stepped back, and admired the massive thing I'd had the good fortune to capture. I couldn't stop marvelling at my success, regardless of the odds stacked up against me. Because of my access to the tunnel after that, I'd met good friends in the form of the dwarves, and I'd met the druids as a result. As I walked to the kitchen with the thought of the druids and that particular quest heavy in my mind, I passed the club of the trolls we'd scared away. The trolls did worry me a bit; they were strong brutes, and, despite their stupidity, they posed a threat to Burthorpe. I just hoped that whatever gave them the ability to travel to the well in Taverley wouldn't give them any advantages over Burthorpe in any battles. I didn't linger over it, though, since it was Christmas, no time for pessimism.

I joined Amy11 in the kitchen, smiling pleasantly. "What are you preparing?" I asked, smelling something delicious.

"You'll see," she giggled. "Come back in five minutes or something. I'm not quite ready yet." I obliged, deciding that it would be a fitting time to feed my pets.

I gathered the food I'd need from a cabinet near the door leading to my pet gardens. I entered the gardens. I approached Tiny Tinsel, my tinsel snake that I'd received as a reward at Christmas last year. Tiny Tinsel didn't need food, but it had still grown to a massive length. I petted it and it squirmed; it loved being pet, despite the fact that it was practically just a piece of animated tinsel. I moved along to Gobbles the turkey, a turkey I'd decided to capture and keep as a pet one Thanksgiving many years ago. I gave the bird some of its feed. While turkeys sometimes made me suspicious (partly because of my unreasonable fear of chickens and also because several giant turkeys attacked Lumbridge one year), I still loved having Gobbles as a pet.

I approached Heimlich the Heim crab, a crab I'd decided to keep as my own following an encounter with many Heim crabs one Christmas. Heimlich had grown massively in the years since I'd decided to keep him, and I'd tried making the pet garden feel more homely for him by adding an artificial rock pool of sorts, suggested to me by a fisherman in Port Sarim. I then entered the stable that took up the corner of the pet garden. My horse, Fierce, lived in there. Fierce was probably my favourite pet. While I didn't enjoy riding him very much, I'd often take him for walks and occasional rides (as long as he was trotting). I often gave him the freedom to walk around the pet and decoration garden as he pleased.

After I'd fed him an apple and some grains, I stepped out and overlooked my pets in their entirety. They were the strangest pets a person could have; Eek, my talking pet spider from many Halloweens ago landed on my shoulder and took some leftover grains from me at that moment, almost as if my own point was proving itself. Despite this fact, they were all brilliant pets and they were all friendly with each other (although Tiny Tinsel's original reception wasn't very warm, since, in fairness to the other animals, he was a piece of moving tinsel with eyes).

I entered the kitchen to the sight of fresh meat sandwiches ready for me. I thanked Amy11, and bit into one of them. To my delight, they were filled with different meats this time, not just conventional cooked meat. I tasted some turkey meat and some white hare meat. Unshed tears filled my eyes at the palette of flavour swirling around my mouth at that moment. Amy11 chuckled at my obvious show of euphoria. After we'd both finished our sandwiches, we collected our spin tickets and decided that we'd visit the Squeal of Fortune. We wanted to go sledding afterwards, so we agreed to collect our sleds from the bank after we'd finished at the Squeal of Fortune. After that, we'd agreed to meet Osrie1 and the werewolves for some lunch. We left the house and appeared in Seer's Village.

Seer's Village was a beautiful place when covered with snow, the woodland next to it even more so. While it wasn't as decorated as Catherby, we still saw some tinsel and a Christmas tree or two. We walked into Catherby and into the bank. We entered the Squeal of Fortune portal, discussing concerns that it wouldn't be open today. Our concern was in vain. Arriving on the other side, we saw the lever, the man in a goblin costume and the wheel itself. A Christmas tree stood next to it, decorated with gold. Since we'd been holding each other's arms entering the portal, we'd appeared in the same room, instead of appearing individually, as was the norm.

"Welcome to the Squeal of Fortune, and a merry Christmas!" the man said. I felt some pity for whoever had to work this job on Christmas day. "On top of your daily spin, the bank has given everyone an extra spin as a gift on the occasion! You will also receive an extra daily spin on every day until New Year's Day." That meant I had seven spins today because of my five spin tickets. After some playful bickering briefly with Amy11, we agreed that she should go first. She stepped forward and handed in her tickets. She completed her spins, receiving some food, some coins, experience, and a mithril chainmail, all of which went to her bank.

It was my turn next, and I flew through my spins. I received some seeds on my first spin, a small experience lamp on my second, and some coins on my third and fourth spins. An adamant sword was my reward on my fifth spin. The sixth spin was the most noteworthy, though. After spinning, the golden arrow landed to a picture of what looked like tickets. "Congratulations!" the man in the goblin outfit exclaimed. "You've won four tickets to a skating rink!"

"That's great," I replied. "But where is the skating rink? How many times can I use the ticket?"

"The skating rink is a Squeal of Fortune reward because it is sponsored by the Squeal of Fortune," the goblin replied. "So, by following the Squeal of Fortune portal, you can get to the rink. Just give the portal your ticket before entering the portal to get to the rink. The tickets last until the end of New Year's Day.

"But I have no skates," Amy11 sighed. "That's a shame."

"It's no problem," the man answered. "They have a skate rental service there. You can even buy your own pair, although, I must warn you, they are not cheap." He turned to me. "Would you like the tickets in your bank, or would you like them now?" I told him I would like them in my hand, and he handed me my four tickets. I took my last spin on the wheel, which resulted in another experience lamp. I took Amy11's arm, and we left swiftly.

We picked up our sleds and I picked up my ice skates in the bank. We left and headed in the direction of the White Wolf Mountain. We wanted to look for an ideal slope to sled on without having to walk too far into the mountain. We walked up the mountain path, and we saw a group of cheerful kids holding small sleds run past us excitedly. They ran further up the mountain and turned a corner. We followed them curiously. They eventually came to a slope that seemed ideal for sledding. It was rather busy, so obviously more people had picked up on this particular slope's existence than us. The snow had been cleared on one far side, so people could climb up as far as they desired to sled down. Some walked to the top of the slope and beyond, so I suspected that there was more.

We walked to the top and saw another slope on the other side, except this slope was larger. I could see one or two wolves at the bottom, so I questioned whether going that way was a good idea. I shrugged and took Amy11's hand, leading her to the top of the safer slope. We decided that we'd perhaps give the more adventurous slope a miss, in case we ended up trapped in another cave. I sat down tentatively; I hadn't done this for a while. Giggling, Amy11 give me a small push, and I slipped downwards, not quite ready. I lost my balance and span around, falling into the now at the bottom like an idiot. Amy11 landed cleanly next to me, laughing with mirth. "Want an excuse to laugh? I'll give you one now," I smirked mischievously. I pounced on her and started tickling her. After twenty seconds of tickling, we fell back in the snow, a laughing heap.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" a female's voice said from overhead. We looked up to see Amelia standing there, grinning. Osrie1 stood next to her, leaning on her shoulder. They both held sleds. I smiled back. Their friendship was clearly blossoming. "Look, let's all go up together." We stood up, collected ourselves, and followed Amelia and Osrie1 up the slope. They sat down on their respective sleds, but, instead of making a move to go down the safer slope, they turned to the long one. I followed suit reluctantly, thinking that, if the worst did come to the worst, Amelia, a werewolf, was with us to call for help.

The others (including Amy11) pushed themselves forward and began their ride. After a second's delay, I copied them. I slid down faster than I originally anticipated, and I was slowly picking up speed. I daren't try and use my feet to break, in case I ended breaking my foot. I flew past the others, bellowing with sudden fear. I lost my control and began spinning around uncontrollably, before successfully regaining my control and, more importantly, my balance. It didn't halt my speed, though. The slope ended and I lost speed, but not before I was practically launched into the snow. Osrie1 landed not much better than me. The two girls glided nearby elegantly, snorting and giggling.

We continued sledding for nearly an hour before walking back to Harry's hut for lunch. We were sopping wet and also rather out of breath after all of the fun. We walked into the hut, dropped our sleds by the door, and dumped ourselves in chairs, panting. Harry, Hunter and Aaron greeted us cordially, claiming that lunch would be in ten minutes or so. Amelia went with her brothers to help prepare the dinner while the rest of us chatted merrily. A few more werewolves entered the hut to join the meal. Eventually, dinner was served; several roasted animals stood on the table, looking plump and juicy. Some vegetables were also available, although the werewolves didn't eat that many of them. We demolished the food, relishing every bite of the werewolves' cooking with a rather wild feel to it. It was an ideal way to accompany an hour or so of sledding.

Amy11 and I, after finishing our food, chatting with the others and relaxing for a while, decided that we'd go for a walk in the woodland with the magic trees by Seer's Village. We left Catherby and took the path into this woodland. We walked among the snow-covered trees, rays of winter sunshine reflecting off them and creating a beautiful, dazzling light. We smiled, savouring the nature and peace surrounding us. The peace was slightly dampened, however, by the unexpected sound of cursing from within the trees. We followed the sound curiously; was somebody in distress? We walked into a clearing and found a most surprising thing.

A snow imp sat by a small sleigh that was broken on one side, hissing as he tried to repair it. A large but mostly empty sack sat by him. Four big dogs wearing fake reindeer antlers were tied to the sleigh, waiting patiently. We approached quietly.

"Are you okay?" I asked uncertainly. He spun around, taken aback, but he seemed relieved to see me.

"Mainiac97!" he squealed. "I am glad to see you. You might not remember me, but I remember you. I was the imp that was assigned to help you out one year, but, then again, you've been there so many times you probably won't recognise me. I am in a pickle, but not a tragic or unpreventable pickle. You see, Santa, in his brilliant attempts at spreading some Christmas spirit, normally gives out food, money and gifts to the homeless and less fortunate at Christmas. In recent years, he has decided that he wants to include animals in that and give presents, food and homes and that to homeless animals on the streets.

"He's given some imps the job of going around, giving out things to the homeless animals. He's assigned different imps to different areas. I've been assigned with the Ardougne-Catherby-Seer's Village-Relleka-Taverley-Burthorpe area, while others have been assigned to other areas. He's given us these small sleighs, sacks of food, toys and flat-pack kennels, and these ropes, similar to the ones he uses for his reindeers. He said that I could pick four big dogs for this sleigh, to give them purpose and all. Thing is, Mainiac97, I'm an imp and I can teleport, so I really didn't need the sleigh, but he insisted that we ride them anyway, to create an impression and everything. Mine's gone and broken now, and I'm stuck trying to fix it." He looked up at us. "Maybe you could do me a small favour? I've done Ardougne, which took a while because of its size. I was going to do Catherby, Seer's Village and Relleka now and then go on to the others, but I'm needed elsewhere later, I still need to fix this blasted thing and might not have enough time to do Taverley and Burthorpe. Would you possibly be able to do those to for me, please? Taverley shouldn't be a problem, since it's such an animal-orientated place and there'd be little to no strays. I'll reward you for your help."

I discussed it briefly with Amy11. It didn't take a lot of discussion; we felt that it was a perfectly Christmassy and generous thing to do, and we were happy to do it. Burthorpe was a war-stricken place, so there'd be plenty of homeless animals. We accepted the imps' offer. His face broke into as grin. "Great! I'll find you in Burthorpe and show my sleigh in the area in an hour or so. By then I would have done the remainder of my repairs and would have finished my animal-gifting job." He went into his sleigh and fetched us a spare sack, identical to his. He grabbed some animal presents from the other bag and put a fair amount into the empty sack. He handed us the sack. We took it and walked off.

We walked into Catherby, past the market and into the dwarves' hut, which was empty. It occurred to me that the dwarves might not allow Amy11 into the tunnel, since she hadn't earned their trust. I just hoped that, because it was Christmas, they'd make an allowance if we were caught. I took her arm and we walked through the tunnel quickly. We passed some dwarves, but they were either overly jolly or rather tipsy and didn't pay much attention to Amy11. We didn't see Austri or Vestri, the dwarven brothers. We reached the other end successfully, without any unwanted occurrences.

We walked through Taverley, which looked even prettier in the snow and fully decorated. We found no strays. We saw Stikklebrix, one of the druids involved in the quest involving the trolls and the well. We asked him about strays in Taverley, and he laughed. He told us that there'd be plenitudes of strays in Burthorpe, if that was what we were looking for. Heeding his words, we stepped into Burthorpe.

Burthorpe was, as I expected it to be, a town practically wrecked by the evils of war. Derelict houses dotted the town, and everything felt reinforced, as if there was a constant threat of battle lingering. There were no decorations, just guards protecting buildings, injured soldiers lying on beds everywhere, and strays, and lots of them. The place felt cold and sapped of any happiness or joy that ever existed here. To my disgust, there were even dead bodies of humans and trolls alike, just littering the streets. Medics rushed here and there, since they were very busy with their duties. It made me wonder why we were helping the animals and not the people. It felt like an injustice.

There were certainly plenty of hungry, cold, lonely animals in Burthorpe, animals affected by the battle. Within no time we were busy handing out animal food, animal toys, animal bowls, and small homes for them to shelter in. I could set up the flat-pack kennel in a very brief period of time, thanks to my experience in construction. The majority of the strays were stray dogs as opposed to cats or anything else. I decided to also offer some of my own food and money to the homeless and injured people there, since I felt odd just helping the strays and not those in even greater need again.

Our sack emptied slowly but steadily, and eventually we'd gone through most of Burthorpe and we had limited gifts left. We came across a little black dog, shivering in the filthy gutter of a small alley. Amy11 went to walk ahead before making eye contact with the dog, which was notably one of the most adorable animals I'd ever met. I approached the animal cautiously, offering him my hand so he would know that I was friendly. He sniffed my hand cautiously before whimpering, positively melting my heart. I offered him a bone, which he chewed on gratefully. I pulled out one of the few remaining flat-packs and began slotting everything in place in order to set it up. I put a small rug, a bowl and some more food inside the kennel, patted the dog a final time, and left.

We continued onward, carrying on with our work, until there was nothing left except for some food. We'd approached a fortress of sort that looked like it was of importance, due to the guards surrounding it. I didn't felt like exploring or nosing, however, so I tapped Amy11 and we turned around. We were faced with the black dog. He stared up at us, giving us a look that could make Death himself smile. I petted him again, and began gesturing back to the kennel I'd set up for him. We walked away, but he followed us, panting and barking adorably. I made eye contact with him again, and I couldn't contain myself. The thought of this poor soul wandering Burthorpe, hungry and cold, broke my heart, so I extended the dog my hand. "You want to come with us, do you?" I asked. It licked my finger. Amy11 let out a sound of adoration.

"Can we keep him?" she begged. I considered this for a second.

"I suppose we could," I said slowly. "I'd love to have him."

"You're the one with the pet garden, so it'd be most logical for him to live there," she reasoned. "But I'll bring him food and treats. Yes I will, yes I will." She then kneeled over and petted the dog. He turned himself around, obviously wanting her to pet his tummy. She did so, resulting in a pleased bark.

"What shall we name him?" I asked. She thought about it for a second.

"How about Maniac's Little Helper?" she suggested. I couldn't help but chortle. It sounded so ridiculous.

"What about Amy's Little Helper?" I laughed.

"Or perhaps Our Little Helper?" she considered. "It includes both of us in the name then." I agreed with her, and the dog was then named Our Little Helper.

At that moment, we heard sleigh bells overhead, and we saw the imp in his sleigh fly over Burthorpe, letting out cries of "Merry Christmas!" Some of the soldiers looked up suspiciously, their faces loosening momentarily. The sleigh landed nearby, startling Our Little Helper.

"Hello!" the imp boomed, leaving the sleigh. He saw the dog. "That is one cute dog," he commented. "Judging by the way you're patting it, I think you've adopted the dog, have you?" We nodded. "Judging by what I could see from the sleigh, you've set up a lot of kennels for the animals," he commented. "For that, I am grateful."

"That's okay, but can I ask something?" I said. "Has anyone made an effort to help these people too?"

"Yes," the imp murmured sadly. "Santa has tasked some imps to helping the homeless and hurt here and elsewhere. However, this place in particular is always in battle. There's nothing much that can be done about that." I nodded. It was sad to consider, but so true.

"Take this as your reward," he then said, in a lighter tone. He handed us a Santa beard each. The beard looked very realistic, and would accompany my outfit nicely. "Take this." He handed Amy11 his empty Santa sack. "That Santa sack is a genuine Santa sack that can be used as such," he informed us. "Mainiac97, you keep the one I gave you earlier. I'm pretty sure that they'll complete your look if you already have a Santa suit. The hat costs a mint, mind, so I don't know the odds of you owning one of those now, if ever. Take these too, for your dog. These are just some I couldn't give out." He handed me a flat-pack kennel, a bowl, two toys, and some food. He gave us experience lamps and Christmas biscuits to boot. "Here, I'll give you a ride back to Seer's Village if you like. Hop in the back, where the sack was."

The ride in the sleigh was uplifting, and it offered a beautiful view. He dropped us by the bank. We thanked him profusely, but not before he thanked us first. After he left, we took Our Little Helper home, introduced him to the other pets, set up his kennel, and gave him his bowl, toys and some food.

The remainder of the day panned out beautifully. We skated for a while, and Amy11 decided to buy a pair of skates of her own. The skating rink was a very professional one and offered a smoother experience than the moat in Falador. Eventually, the feast came, and we used our teleport tablets to enter the feast. It was in a similar venue to a feast I'd attended a while ago. The feast was positively beautiful. Every drop of mead was satisfying, every spoonful of vegetables was fresh, and every scrap of meat was succulent.

After the feast, we mixed with friends. Osrie1 and even Capablanca joined us soon afterwards, since they were also invited to the feast. We spoke to Santa Claus and the Ice Queen. Although the events of the past made my conversation with the Ice Queen uncomfortable, it wasn't bitter at all. To my amusement, I saw Jack Frost, although he was surrounded by snow imps and overviewed by his mother, making any evil schemes practically impossible. I saw the goblin chefs, Kris and Kringle, and we exchanged some words, despite the fact that I wanted to break their ugly skulls for the way they treated me last Christmas. I saw Thorvar, the jolly Fremennik man who looked a lot like Santa and organised the Heimland Games some years ago. Also, to my great surprise, we met Scrooge, the miser who almost ruined Christmas years ago. He was the man who sent me my ice skates. He was a changed man; he was much happier, and there was a twinkle in his eye that I didn't remember before.

After all of the eating, drinking, chatting, and snowball fighting, Osrie1, Amy11 and I returned to my house, and we spent the rest of the evening in each other's company, discussing presents and pets. As we talked, I reflected on how much of a good Christmas it had been. It made me reflect over places like Burthorpe, where not everyone was so fortunate. It made me appreciate what I had and, better yet, who I had, and I hoped that the unnecessary battle there would soon end.

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><p><em>Hope you found that satisfactory. It wasn't eventful in terms of big fight scenes or epic quests, but it's some definite plot progression and some seasonal fun. My question to you is, how did you find it, perhaps as compared to some of my Christmas specials in previous years? Hope you've all had a pleasant Christmas, I hope you all enjoy your 12 days of Christmas (or what remains of it), and a happy New Year to you all. Roll on 2013!<em>

_Next chapter, it's New Year's Eve, and Mainiac97 decides to go shark fishing with the werewolves again, with some surprises waiting for them in the waters..._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	22. Chapter 22: New Year Revelations

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is my New Year's special 2013. **Jagex don't make New Year events at this time.** So this chapter isn't based off any event of Jagex's. Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 22: New Year Revelations<strong>_

"And the winner of this year's Hemenster New Year's Eve fishing championship is…" the man yelled, leaving a gap lasting a few seconds before he spoke again. He called out a name that was rather long and unusual. A man wearing shabby overalls and a large grin stepped up to accept his glorious diamond trophy. I applauded along with everyone else, feeling sad, not because I'd lost (since that was inevitable), but because the fishing competitions were over. They were good fun, and had helped me practise my fishing. I hoped to eventually earn a place in the fishing guild, a heaven for fishermen due to the quality and variety of the fish that swum there. I got up and left Hemenster, shaking the hands of the winner and runners-up as I did so. I walked back through Seer's Village, my train of thought taking me elsewhere.

A pleasant post-Christmas atmosphere filled the streets. Decorations remained up for the time being and snow still covered the ground. Christmas was a brilliant day; all of my presents were excellent and were being put to good use. One of the most memorable things about Christmas Day, however, was finding Our Little Helper, a dog that had won our hearts so that we decided to keep him as a pet. He was settling in nicely in my pet garden; my other pets had been accepting of him, which was a relief. He was an adorable dog, and Amy11 always joked that she'd run off and take him with her.

Of course, it was now New Year's Eve, and another new year fast approached. I remembered, with a twinge of concern, the worrying events of the previous New Year. With all of the members of the Wizard's Tower in the Land of Snow celebrating Christmas, the tower was deserted and in danger thanks to the lunatic plot from Greyzag. The shocking revelation followed; Fiend, the robber of the God Rune, wanted to spare the tower for his own mysterious purposes, kidnapping Greyzag in the process.

I hadn't seen or heard anything else relating to Fiend since then (apart from potentially the possessed shark), and I'd been stewing in anticipation all year. It wasn't something I could help, although I wish that I could get such worries off of my mind. The more current, other pressing matters, such as the threat of Evil Bob and the confusing appearance of the vampire, never helped my heavy state of mind, although my mental burdens weren't always prevalent. When I was doing something adventurous, enjoying with friends, or training a skill, my mind tended to drift away from my problems, no matter how big or small. That's why I loved doing those things.

As I walked past the Seer's Village bank, I noticed the castle of Camelot up ahead. The letter I received on Christmas day was certainly curious. I wondered who King Arthur was and why he wanted me to complete a quest for him. What sort of quest did he have for me? I decided that, one day soon, I'd investigate, but not today. As I decided on that, I walked past the gates of the castle, walking past a man wearing grey armour. He wished me a good afternoon, before eyeing my sword curiously.

"Say, son, where did you get that sword there?" he asked, sounding almost suspicious.

"This is Silverlight," I told him. "It was a trophy of my victory over a demon named Delrith." His eyebrows went up.

"So you're Mainiac97, the adventurer my king mentioned," he smiled. "My king has been waiting for you to visit him. Are you free?" I nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Then come with me."

"But I'm not ready to begin any quests," I explained. He chortled gently.

"You needn't begin your quest today," he reassured me. "All King Arthur would like to you is meet you and explain the quest. There is time. So, come with me." I obliged, following him into the castle.

It was a very traditional castle, nowhere near as lavish as the castle in Varrock. Everything was made from stone, but it felt very noble, unlike the more comforting stones of Lumbridge. While the castle in Lumbridge did hold nobility, the power emanating from the stone here was almost stifling. Two fountains spurting crystal-clear, pure water stood on either side of me. I walked under an arch and into a courtyard of sorts. A bigger fountain stood in the centre of the arch, surrounded by well-kept shrubbery and small statues of men in armour. Men that wore the same grey armour as the man accompanying me walked around the courtyard, attending to different business. I noticed that they all wore brown capes and golden amulets hanging from their necks with brown straps. Did they all belong under a particular order underneath King Arthur? I would soon find out, I supposed.

The man took me to a large double-door. "This will take us directly to the round table," he informed me, beaming. "This way, we don't have to take the guest entrance. Normally guests and visitors need to organise a meeting with the king beforehand and whatnot, but an exception can be made for you." At that, he rapped twice on the door, which swung open slowly.

We stepped into a hall of sorts. Most of it was occupied by a round table which was very finely crafted, made of wood with a beautiful carving of a star shape in the middle. Comfortable-looking red chairs stood around the table. On the far end of the table stood a golden throne that was higher up than the other chairs. Sat on the chair was a man who I assumed was King Arthur. He had a bushy brown beard that looked like it could scratch granite. He wore a jewel-studded golden crown. He wore the same armour, brown cape and gold amulet with the brown strap as everyone else, except his was more polished. It seemed sturdier, as if there was something about his set of armour that distinguished him from the others. As we entered, he stood up and his face broke into a grin. He stepped forward and shook my hand.

"Mainiac97," he said. "It's great to meet you at last. I can tell it's you from the demon-slaying sword on your belt and the complexion that tells me you've seen a fair amount of bloodshed. I'm King Arthur of Camelot, and these men are the Knights of the Round Table. We are an established court here. We weren't always from these lands; we've come from afar to set up here for the time being. We keep order in the lands. We go on quests, rescuing people, recovering artefacts, and slaying monsters, human or otherwise. We have a voice also in kingly affairs, working with the rulers of RuneScape as a recognised and respected court in order to keep order, justice and good rule."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I professed. I suspected that he was of importance based off his name, but didn't know of his true importance and his standing in the affairs of RuneScape.

"The pleasure is all mine," he admitted. "I've heard of some of your feats. As your sword says, you slew Delrith. You slew Count Draynor, a feared vampire in those regions. More importantly that that, though, you slew a man named Master Samuel. I was distinctly aware of his danger and how much of a feat it truly was for you to defeat him. You can tell me that story another time, though. What I wanted to ask you, though, was if you were interested in a quest I have to offer.

"The quest isn't an easy one, but it's one that will truly benefit our order. You see, an object called the Holy Grail has appeared in RuneScape. It is a powerful artefact, blessed by gods. Its appearance is rare, so we must take advantage of it. The quest is, simply, to retrieve the Holy Grail, although this is not an easy task. Nobody knows where the Grail may be except for Merlin, my magician. He is stuck in a crystal ball in his tower upstairs, unable to be removed. He was stuck there by my enemy, Morgan Le Faye. She followed us here from where we before; she now lives in Keep Le Faye, somewhere south from here by the sea. We were able to save him but not remove him from the ball.

"One of my knights, Sir Galahad, found the location somehow without Merlin's assistance, but he returned, having failed and very visibly affected by the quest. He retired from duty, retaining the title but being unable mentally to assist us further. He now lives west of the private woods near here. All that we can gather is that the Grail was once in a holy place. Another three people have attempted the quest before, bar my knights. One of them died whilst trying to breach Keep Le Faye in order to find some way of freeing Merlin, one of them succeeded in breaching it but was captured by Morgan Le Faye, and the third one decided to avoid her altogether and search for the Grail elsewhere; of course, he's as good as failed. So, we were hoping that you could help us. We would reward you with the honorary title of a Knight of the Round Table. You'd earn a set of our specific armour as well as a money reward. Perhaps we could harness the Grail somehow to help you." He eyed the white knight armour I currently wore. "It seems, though, that you are currently already a member of other knights."

"No, you see, I wear the armour of the white knights because I helped them, I worked closely with Sir Amik Varze, and I am in their hall of heroes," I explained. "I am not a white knight per se."

"Not that it matters anyway," King Arthur said pleasantly. "I'm sure something would be organised regardless. So, do you accept my quest? Of course, you take time to consider your first move. You aren't obliged to try and save Merlin, although it may be your first logical step." I thought about it, before nodding and shaking King Arthur's hand. "Great!" he exclaimed. "I feel that you may be able to actually solve the problem we've gnashed our teeth over for a while. Good luck, Mainiac97!" I thanked him and left Camelot swiftly, letting my musings take over me.

As I walked through Catherby, I considered the quest. It was a weighty and a difficult one, but I loved a challenge. It would benefit a lot of people involved. All I could do, essentially, was mull over the situation and King Arthur's words. I figured that there was probably some way of entering Keep Le Faye with no unnecessary struggle. How, though? I'd probably need some more information. Perhaps sometime after the New Year I'd enquire some of the knights, in the hope of garnering further useful information.

As I thought about the quest, I bumped into Aaron. "Mainiac97!" he yelled happily. "I was actually looking for you. We're going shark fishing again. Do you want to come?" I thought about it. I was slightly reluctant after what had happened previously. _Then again,_ I thought. _I've got that harpoon I got for Christmas to use. Of course, I must at least try to use my bare hands, but the harpoon is there, in case. It's adventurous. I should try it._ I agreed, much to Aaron's delight. "Meet us by the cave when you're ready," he told me, dashing off in the direction of the beach. I went to my bank, collected my harpoon and some string so I could tie it to my leg while I swam (since it was only a precaution after last time and I'd be using my hands for the most part), deposited some objects, and walked towards the cave, wondering if I'd made a wise choice.

I met Aaron, Harry, Hunter, Amelia and, to my surprise, Osrie1 in the cave by the beach. Amelia and Harry were explaining to Osrie1 what they'd explained to me when I'd started this alternative method of fishing. Aaron and Hunter lined up against the water, preparing to transform. Eventually, after they'd finished explaining to Osrie1 what was necessary, Amelia and Harry joined them. That was my cue to strip down to my underwear and tie my harpoon to my leg. I'd done it before, so Amelia's presence didn't make me uncomfortable. Osrie1, however, became very shy, and he eventually stripped down after some coaxing. Amelia squeezed his hand for comfort, something I found very touching. The spell for breathing by Orion was cast on all of us. After a moment, the werewolves transformed. Although the sight was familiar to me, it was still a terrifying and shocking experience. When they were fully transformed, they dove into the waters, and I followed suit.

The waters were absolutely freezing. I expected as much because of the time of year, but it still caught me off guard and I had to spend some time trying to regain my concentration. Osrie1 joined us after a moment, and I could see that he was shocked by the cold, especially considering that he'd never done it before. When we were all ready, we swam downwards towards our prey. I noticed that Osrie1 swam very close to the werewolf form of Amelia, as if he was seeking some form of comfort from her, despite her being in her werewolf form. It clearly didn't intimidate him at all, a very positive thing.

We eventually came across our first shark. We all gestured for Osrie1 to try and capture it. He swam forward and did what I did on my first time, that being grabbing the tail. He failed and floated there, defeated. I swam forward and grabbed the shark by its body, wrestling with it and letting it go. Osrie1 understood my message and did the same thing. He was able to fight the strength of the giant fish and overpower it this time. The shark grew limp in his arms, and Aaron dived forward and killed it swiftly. Aaron then took the shark under his large arm, and we swam downwards some more.

I captured two sharks successfully. I approached a third one. This one seemed slightly bigger and slightly more agitated. When I went to hold on to it, it spun around wildly, threw me off and began snapping at me, albeit out of natural fright and not any form of malice. I tried again, and failed again. I decided to make some use of my harpoon. I held onto it again, this time digging the tip of the harpoon into the shark's head. It squirmed, and some fish blood started floating upwards. It weakened, but didn't give in. I pushed the harpoon further into the shark, subsequently killing it. It was certainly a helpful tool, although it slightly defeated the point of the werewolves' form of shark fishing.

After capturing another shark (with my hands), I swam towards Harry to hand him my kill. Harry took it before being distracted by frantic movements from Hunter. Hunter seemed to be trying to communicate something to us desperately. Was he injured? Could he breathe? We began panicking before we realised he was trying to point to something with one claw. My heart skipped a beat when I saw what he was pointing at.

A human body lay among some rocks nearby.

Harry nosedived forward, sweeping up the body as gently as he could. He was evidently male, with short hair and wearing nothing but torn, black trousers. Harry took the body to the others and began pointing upwards. He obviously wanted to leave the sea to investigate the body, since it was more difficult to do so closely underwater. The others finished their kills, evidently shocked, and agreed to return to the surface. We all swam upwards, appearing by the cave again and clambering back in.

The werewolves deposited all of their kills nearby and transformed back into their human forms. The body was laid down gently nearby as we dried and got dressed. We decided to return to Harry's house to see what we could gather. Some of the kills were put into bags while some were carried. "I don't like this guy's smell," Harry said, sniffing. "He's been underwater for a while, clearly, so I can't pinpoint it exactly, but the smell is making me uncomfortable. Let's take him back and look." We all walked back into Catherby, Harry holding the body as gently as he could.

We walked into Harry's house. Two other werewolves were alerted of the situation involving the body. Harry took the body into a bedroom swiftly. We waited patiently for a minute, before Harry walked out slowly, his face as white as chalk. "I suspect something awful," he growled. "I need Mainiac97 to come here, along with another two werewolves, any werewolves." I stood up, very concerned. Why was Harry so distressed? What could be so shocking? Aaron and Hunter followed me into the room. We were all very nonplussed.

"Please tell me that this is not what I think it is," he snarled. "Looking too close disgusts me, in case it's what I think it is. You've seen them before. Tell me what it is." I was surprised by how the body was suddenly an 'it'. What had I seen before? Where was his anger coming from? Harry's cryptic attitude made me uneasy. I looked at the corpse. I didn't recognise him. He was very pale; whether he was like that in life or as a result of death was a question. He was rather muscled, although he seemed springy, like the sort who practiced agility. Then what was so bad? I held my ear against his chest, and I yelped with surprise. He had a heartbeat. He can't have been dead. I began putting pieces of the puzzle together. I opened the body's jaw; fangs unmistakably glinted against the light. I carefully opened an eyelid; the eye darted towards me to look at me. This was no man; this was a vampire.

I stumbled backwards, roaring with surprise. "It is!" I barked. "What should we do?" Before anything else could be said, the vampire jumped upwards, hissing. It bounced towards Hunter, who was bowled over, due to his lack of preparation. Shouting, Harry and Aaron pounced forward and grabbed the vampire's arms. They were clearly not ready at all, since the vampire was able to take advantage of their lack of preparation to throw them off.

I unsheathed Silverlight and waved it towards the hostile vampire. He darted backwards, screeching. "Fools!" he spat. "You should have left me, not woken me!" My stomach filling with rage, I prodded the vampire with the blade. He winced and backhanded me to the floor. Hunter grabbed the vampire from behind, beginning to overpower him this time. The vampire clawed Hunter's eye, visibly injuring him and making him fall backwards. Aaron saw this move and bawled with obvious anger. He was red with fury. Aaron grabbed his blade-on-a-chain and spun it around, trying to slice the vampire. The vampire darted around Aaron, taunting him. "If you're so powerful, filthy werewolf, why don't you transform and maul me?" the vampire mocked. "Oh, I remember, you're in civilization and you can't. That's a shame. Now I might trump you and take you back. I have some friends nearby who would love you." My eyes widened. Did he say nearby? There were more?

This was the last straw for Aaron. Visibly straining, he screamed and began hunching over. He was growing, but at a slower pace; he was transforming and struggling against it. "No!" Harry shouted. "Don't! Remember your training!" It was too late. Aaron grew massively, hitting and breaking through the ceiling. He fell on all fours. Fur sprouted from his body, and his nose slowly turned into a muzzle. This transformation was much more frightening than usual; I knew that he was completely losing control and would be very unstable. As the transformation finished, I lost my nerve and backed out the door, calling for help.

I heard an almost painful howl as Aaron turned into a werewolf completely. I watched as he stood there for a full five seconds before turning to the vampire, snarling. I was horribly reminded of a similar scenario that unfolded in the sewers of Falador years ago. He pounced on the vampire, mauling and biting the blood-sucker. Harry also turned into a werewolf, although this process was much quicker. Harry grabbed Aaron from behind and pulled him backwards, restraining him as much as he possibly could. Hunter still lay on the floor, holding his eye, writhing in agony after the vampire's previous blow. Aaron was very much set on the vampire, though, so he pulled towards the injured monster, dragging Harry with him.

The vampire backed off, hurt but still cackling madly. Taking the opportunity, I stabbed the vampire in the arm, weakening him to make it easier to restrain him. Amelia and Osrie1 rushed over, very clearly frightened and unaware of the true goings-on, but they understood that the vampire needed to be restrained. We dragged the vampire away as far as we could. The vampire took advantage of their surprise and wriggled free, diving towards the front door. Aaron broke free from Harry and threw himself towards the front door, breaking through and appearing outdoors.

We chased him. Thankfully nobody had seen anything, at least. The vampire was being mauled further by a very angry Aaron. Amelia, Osrie1 and I tackled the vampire to the ground and dragged him indoors, out of sight. Harry tried taking Aaron back indoors, struggling massively. Suddenly, we heard another roar, and Hunter burst from the bedroom in his werewolf form. One of his eyes was very clearly in need of serious attention, but he assisted Harry in overpowering a very irritated Aaron regardless. Aaron was taken back inside. Harry and Hunter dragged him through another door to the left and to another place in the house.

People from other houses and the market approached our house, asking about what was happening. They hadn't seen the disturbance, thankfully, but they'd heard it. It was probably loud enough for all of Catherby to have heard it. Osrie1 abandoned the brief struggle with the vampire temporarily to wave the concerned villagers away with some excuse involving noisy rabid dogs. They left eventually, clearly not entirely convinced.

Harry and Hunter returned after five minutes in their human forms. With all five of us helping, the vampire was overpowered easily. The vile creature was dragged into the room Aaron was just dragged into. We went down a set of stairs and into a room I wasn't aware of before. It was a dungeon of sorts, except it was clean and well-lit. Five barred-off cells occupied the dungeon, with a path leading down the middle, giving access to each one. There were rags on the floor of each one and an actual bed in each one also. Aaron was stuck in one cell, throwing himself angrily against the bars in a vain bid for escape.

"The metal of the bars is reinforced," Harry told us. "We built this primarily for werewolves that have lost control during their transformations, especially for werewolves going through a training regime. Aaron used it a lot during his training, but he's evidently lost his temper with all his techniques going out of the window." He smirked. "We'll find that it will serve a second purpose today." The vampire was pushed into a cell, which was locked instantly.

"I'm going to have to push it for details afterwards," Harry spat, obvious malice in his voice. "There might be more vampires in the area. It may explain the vampire that went fishing. Perhaps we can squeeze some information from it. In the meantime, I'm going to have to ask one of the werewolves to keep watch." The vampire began giggling madly, making me uneasy. We left the dungeon, leaving an enraged werewolf and a laughing vampire behind. Aaron's unexpected loss of control had frightened me something awful and left me still shaky. Werewolves were apparently a deep fear of mine, and therefore such a potentially dangerous change had scared me greatly.

The day wore on slowly. A werewolf arrived eventually to keep guard in the cells. Hunter had to go to Orion for medical attention involving his eye, but he returned afterwards wearing a bandage and a smile. As the evening approached, the werewolves cooked the sharks in preparation for a New Year's celebration. There was a countdown and some fireworks happening in Catherby, but not a party, like Thanksgiving. We decided that we'd eat and drink around the New Year, but upon the arrival of the actual New Year we'd all watch the fireworks. Aaron joined us afterwards in his human form; he was very distressed and filled with regret, something rather saddening. However, he was told to forget about it during the celebrations, and it would be discussed another time. We did enjoy and the sharks were delicious and very filling, but there was a constantly-obvious tension.

The New Year approached quickly, and we all walked outside, joining a crowd of people in the market. A space had been cleared and was now being taken up by fireworks. As time ticked away and the New Year approached, I considered the past year. It had been eventful; we'd moved to exploring beyond the wall by Taverley and going back to our old ways, and it had certainly been the right decision. I looked forward to good times in the coming year. I still felt nervous, though. Fiend would remain a threat, and returning threats and new threats alike would be on my mind such as the vampires that had practically revealed themselves to us (I still remembered the words of the vampire) or Evil Bob and his curious army. I wouldn't let the bad things in my life ruin the good things, however; a friend, the late Dream Decay, taught me that lesson.

The final minute countdown to the New Year began, and the fireworks were lit at the right time, much to the pleasure of the crowd. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" they chanted, and the fireworks flew up in the air, exploding into a beautiful array of colourful sparks (although I'd seen bigger fireworks in New Years of the past). Amy11 turned to me and we kissed. As we watched the firework display I considered today's events. What were vampires doing nearby? Why would they be so close to the werewolves? The possibility that they were associated with the vampires we'd encountered previously didn't bear thinking about. I both looked forward to and feared the challenges to come and maybe even the revelations to come.

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><p><em>That's certainly left a lot of questions. There have been two vampires now. What is the explanation behind it all? How foreboding is it, really? Does Aaron's loss of control raise any red flags? What will happen from here? We will find out in 2013. A happy New Year to all of my readers.<em>

_2012 has been a slow year for this story, but it's seen some definite progress. There haven't been an awfully high number of chapters this year; despite this, the chapters have been noticeably longer and there has been the coming of a new arc, the 'Bloodthirsty' arc, creating a big shift in location. Perhaps now the name of the arc holds more meaning. Mainiac97 and friends have moved to Catherby and have met new friends. Plenty has been explored this year, and you can bet that much more will be explored in 2013. I promised fighting, quests, reappearances and romance this time last year, and we have seen all of these things. We'll see more of those this year, as well as a surprising twist or two. My New Year's resolution in connection to this story has been to try my utmost to bring more chapters in 2013 than in 2012. Have you any New Year resolutions to share?_

_Next time, Mainiac97 searches for the powerful and renowned Holy Grail._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	23. Chapter 23: Merlin's Crystal

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_So here's chapter 23. It covers a classic quest that is one of my personal favourites. I've had to split it; there was going to be one big chapter, but, due to the length and an unnatural flow as a result, I decided to cut it and develop much more on the second half._

_ I know that the delay has been unacceptable. Don't think I've lost interest in this story, because I am as interested as ever. Don't think that I am lazy either, because that is not the case. I've just simply had priorities. Hopefully things will now improve. Remember to check my Twitter account (Mainiac97) for regular updates that I can't really put up here effectively, because I mention how things are going there. _

_Anyway, I hope the quality and the length of the chapter makes up somewhat for the delay. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 23: <strong>__**Merlin's Crystal**_

"I don't know that much about Keep Le Faye," the knight said slowly, removing his helmet and scratching his head nonchalantly. "The knights don't tend to try and break into it because of the difficulty of doing so and the threat of our enemies inside. The keep is by the sea, if that helps. However, an attack by sea could be seen from miles away, so that's pointless." I thanked the knight for his thoughts and left Camelot swiftly.

Following the New Year, I'd embarked upon the quest given to me by King Arthur. However, I hadn't the slightest on where to start. I'd decided that my only leads to the Holy Grail I was trying to find were the retired knight and the wizard Merlin. Since apparently nothing could be taken from the knight, I'd settled on trying to free Merlin, which was like a quest within itself. I'd been discussing the task of trying to find some way of freeing Merlin by entering Keep Le Faye with the Knights of the Round Table; they were as stumped as I am, since they'd tried and failed individually previously. I walked into Catherby, burdened with thoughts and mysteries.

I walked past the bank, deciding to complete today's spin of the Squeal of Fortune in the hopes that it would somehow inspire me. I entered the portal, greeted the worker dressed as a goblin there, and made my spin on the giant wheel. My reward was some raw sharks and raw swordfish, which were transferred to my bank.

The raw fish reminded me of the unfortunate events of New Year's Eve, when we went shark fishing and found a corpse which turned out to be a vampire. Of course, this led to Aaron losing his temper and transforming into a werewolf, almost leading to someone being killed. Thankfully he was controlled and reverted, but he hadn't been the same since then. He'd been very miserable, segregating himself from the others despite their arguments and trying to avoid contact, human otherwise. He was training again at an almost violent rate, although, according to Harry, the vampire had boiled his temper so badly nothing but an incredibly high level of self-control that not even he had could have prevented it. I wasn't sure how true this was; I suspected it was something Harry said in order to try and make Aaron feel better. I felt bad for him, since he obviously felt terrible following the events and he felt guilt unnecessarily.

The vampire, on the other hand, was still stuck in the dungeon of Harry's house. Harry was in the process of trying to remove information from him using a series of interrogations, but the vampire was adamant that he would not tell Harry anything. It was frustrating, practically knowing that there was more vampires nearby that potentially threatened Catherby but not being able to confirm it. The vampire was rather insane; he'd go into laughing fits and frenzies of throwing himself against the bars of his cell. It was frightening and disgusting; Harry had no sympathy for the creature.

I stood by the Catherby dock, trying to refrain from thinking about anything but the matter at hand. I needed to find a way into Keep Le Faye without a struggle or without attracting unwanted attention. It was apparent that it'd be easier to enter by sea, but how could I do that unnoticed? It was quite a dilemma. As I struggled to find a solution, several dock/ship workers wearing prominent white sailor hats walked past me, carrying a large crate, large enough to carry a person.

"Where is this going?" one of them grunted loudly.

"It goes by the candle shop," the other one replied. "That Morgan lady has paid a stupid sum of money, at least double what I'm paid, for deliveries of them spooky black candles to that creepy tower thing by the sea. They say that them things bring bad luck. Weird, if you ask me."

This raised noisy alarms in my head. They were, undoubtedly, discussing Morgan Le Faye and the keep. Obviously, deliveries were being made to Keep Le Faye. If I could somehow get on the ship, I could probably sneak into the keep. The workers placed the crate next to the shop and opened it; it was, as I suspected, empty. "You fetch the candles," one of the workers said to the other. "I need to get something to the fishing shop." One of them entered the shop and the other walked off towards the dock. I saw a golden opportunity to get in the crate. Perhaps I could fool the workers to get me onto the ship going to Keep Le Faye so I could enter; if I was caught, I'd just pretend to be a raving lunatic and I'd flee. After all, my name was Mainiac97.

I slipped into the crate, which accommodated me and my bag comfortably. I closed the crate, which was harder than I suspected. I heard footsteps and grunting from directly outside. "Is he done?" the worker murmured. The crate was lifted. "Yeah," he said. "Wow, who'd think that candles would be so heavy? I should check." There was a hesitation. "Nah," he conceded. "Wonder where he's gone. Probably on the ship. We ready to go?" he yelled, assumably to the people in the dock. There were some cries of affirmative in reply. "Good. I'm comin'. This thing here's heavy, give me a hand." He completely lifted the crate and I made every effort not to make any noise or movement. After a lot of movement, the crate was practically dropped onto the floor. I had to bite my tongue in order not to yelp. After a few minutes, I heard the sound of a horn and I felt a swaying movement. The ship had clearly set sail. I considered what was happening and chuckled very softly as I imagined the confusion currently happening in Catherby due to a lost shipment of candles.

What must have been at least half an hour passed before the swaying stopped and another horn sounded. A felt the crate being picked up and moved again. The crate was carried a distance and deposited. I herd some muffled mumbling and footsteps. Suddenly, a cold female voice pierced the air.

"Are these my candles?" the women said icily.

"Yes, ma'am," a worker different to the previous one said nervously.

"Indeed," the woman sniffled. "I request that you take the shipment to my son at the top floor. His name is Sir Mordred. He will deal with it. I have business to attend to. Don't mind the renegade knights." I heard her stroll off. To my surprise, I heard the crate being opened. Light poured into the crate, and it took me a moment to adjust to it. I looked up and saw the shocked face of a ship worker. Neither of us knew how to react. I saw him take a deep breath in order to raise an alarm. On instinct, I pounced upwards and punched the man in the face, successfully knocking him unconscious.

I peered out of the crate at my surroundings. I was on a patch of land by the sea. A small dock jutted out into the sea; a large boat designed for shipping was by the dock. Thankfully, nobody had seen my attack on the worker. I turned around, and was faced with a foreboding, dark, tall tower. It wasn't like the tower that the dark wizards had, though; this one seemed noble and well-kept, as if the tower in its entirety was scrubbed clean regularly. A large oak door would grant me entry to the tower. I removed the man's sailor hat, removed my armour, put it in my bag and put the hat on, feeling guilty. However, there weren't many alternatives. I picked up the empty crate, holding it in a way that would hide my weapons. I looked unusual because of my bag, but I hoped that my disguise was sufficient.

I walked through the tower. Inside, I was rather nervous, but I put on a bored exterior, like a man who was doing a rather dull job. I was currently in a dining room of sorts, and knights wearing dark armour and matching dark hats (not pitch-black, like the black knights) surrounded the table, doing different jobs. I assumed that these were the renegade knights. Everything was well-kept, although there was something notably sinister about the place, as if even the furniture itself had evil intentions. I walked past these knights as confidently as I could, hoping that the glint of Silverlight was not visible.

I walked upstairs and was rather disturbed to see what looked like a rack designed to hold and torture humans. I began imagining myself on that rack, and I resisted the urge to vomit. There were some more knights, and they eyed me suspiciously as I attempted to hold back a retch. In eerie contrast, there were shields that bore the sign of Saradomin hanging from the walls, even though it was evident that this was not a place of Saradomin. I spotted another flight of stairs, and I darted towards it, shivering. The next floor was occupied by desks and tables, by which sat even more knights. I saw what I hoped to be the last set of stairs opposite; it was next to a big door which would, assumably, take me to another part of the keep which I wasn't interested in. I darted across, attracting some curious glances, since if the crate had an awful lot in it I'd be moving much slower. I went up the stairs, bracing myself for some sort of conflict.

Sir Mordred sat in a chair upstairs; I assumed I was now on the top floor. We were in a relatively-small room occupied by an empty table, a bookshelf and a stand designed for weapons containing some shields and swords. Sir Mordred wore the same armour as the other knights, except he wore an actual helmet (although not a full one) with a purple plume on the top.

"The delivery, I assume?" he asked, looking slightly tired. There was a moment of silence as I wondered what to do. I came to a quick decision and threw the crate down hard onto the floor. It shattered, revealing to Sir Mordred that it was empty.

"Listen," I snarled. "I have a friend who's trapped magically because of you people, and I need him free. You must help me."

"I will not take any orders from you," he smirked. He fumbled with a sword and a shield from the nearby rack and approached me menacingly. He began swinging the sword in my direction and I used Silverlight to defend myself.

"Must we resort to violence?" I asked, frowning. He jabbed me with his sword again, grinding his teeth. "Very well," I muttered, and I threw Silverlight into his shield with all of my energy. I didn't intend on killing him, I only wanted to roughen him so I could hopefully get my way. It wasn't the norm for me and it didn't feel dignified, but there weren't an awful lot of alternatives available when dealing with the son of a sorceress that hated King Arthur so much.

We wrestled for a bit with our weapons before I managed to overpower him and knock his shield aside. I forced him against the bookshelf, showering us with heavy tomes. I succeeded in cutting him with Silverlight; he resisted, but he was weaker than me, so it was futile. He shoved me backwards with a sudden burst of strength, and I stumbled momentarily.

He used that moment of weakness to pull Silverlight from my grip and throw it across the room with a clatter. He slashed in my direction with his sword, nicking me repeatedly and slowly draining away my hit points. I unsheathed the dragon sword from Madrey1 and the two swords clashed. His sword broke in half, rendering him weaponless. He dashed madly to the stand to fetch another one, using his dented shield to protect himself from my blows. He retrieved another sword; in the process of doing so I tripped him up with one of my strikes. He tried standing up, but I wrestled with him for another minute or so to try and keep him down and to assert my domination in the fight. He was rapidly drained of enough energy to fight back and I pinned him against a wall, growling.

"Listen," I spat. "You cannot win against me because I am stronger and my equipment is superior. Now, will you help me or not?"

"I can't, even if I wanted to," he replied, smiling unpleasantly. I applied pressure to a wound of his and he winced, his stupid grin vanishing instantly. "My mother's the one with the area of expertise in magic and trapping magically and freeing magically. She's not here, and you've got a problem if she ever gets here."

"I guess that we'll have to give her reason to be here, then," I sighed. I dug the end of my sword into Sir Mordred's side, drawing blood and draining him of his hit points. He howled with pain, and there was a blast of cold air as Morgan Le Faye herself appeared next to me.

"Let my son go!" she shrieked. I held Sir Mordred against the wall, holding the dragon sword to his throat in the most threatening manner possible. "Don't hurt him any more, or there will be consequences!" I saw an opportunity; I had something to use as leverage to try and get some information from her.

"I won't if you tell me how to free Merlin the wizard from the crystal ball you trapped him in," I said defiantly. She considered it.

"You're wearing the armour of the white knights," she noted. "Yet you're trying to blackmail me. Some Saradomin worshipper you are." I felt a twinge of guilt which was instantly drowned by a dignified anger.

"You're the one who's trapping people in crystal balls," I snarled. "You're not in a position to try and appeal to people's consciences. Now, please tell me how to free Merlin. Better yet, you can do it yourself." Sir Mordred squirmed under my grip, and I held the sword dangerously close to his neck, so close I almost drew blood. He hissed and stopped moving. I was determined not to hurt him further, for it wasn't needed and I could gain the information I needed.

She considered this, before sighing. "My enmity with those accursed knights isn't worth the life of my son," she sighed sadly, obviously deflated. "Very well. You will need to break the ball with Excalibur, a sword of legend that was once used by King Arthur himself. However, you will need to go to the Lady of the Lake, by a lake south of Taverley, to gain the sword. Despite this, you must break the seal before doing this, or you may kill Merlin the wizard. I sealed it using Thrantax the Mighty; you will need to control him before you can break the seal on the ball. Sealing is a curious concept, and I wouldn't expect you to understand it." She laughed coldly, raising hairs on the back of my neck. "To summon the ghost, you will need to burn the bones of a bat with a black candle in a twelve-pointed star; there is one star drawn near to Camelot. It's an easy spell for me, because of all of the bats that live around this keep and a candle-maker living relatively close. To control the ghost, you can either battle it or say a particular phrase of Zamorak, inscribed on most altars of Zamorak." She chuckled. "Although a Saradomin worshipper like you won't want to do that, am I right?"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I said slowly. I didn't want to raise my voice, because maybe she was trying to help me.

"Let's put it this way," she said seriously. "If I am lying and you waste your time, you can return and blackmail me rottenly again, since you clearly have some method of finding your way in here. Or perhaps you could check my spell with some other wise wizard, not that they could do much involving my particular branch of magic. Now, can you free my son?" I hesitated. I wasn't entirely convinced that she was being truthful, yet my alternatives were running dry. I conceded that I could perhaps get in contact with another wizard friend of mine and try and formulate something else if she was telling untruths. I reluctantly lowered my sword and backed off. Sir Mordred went to lunge for me, but Morgan Le Faye held up her hand and stopped him in mid-air with a spell.

"You are free to go if you promise not to cause any more trouble," she whispered. "Leave peacefully through the front entrance and we will have no further quarrels, unless you'd like to return and discuss my methods again, although, if my son's life is not endangered, I cannot guarantee that the exchange will not result in injury. Farewell."

I turned around, recovered Silverlight, and shot her a stare of warning before walking down the stairs. I walked to the bottom and walked out another large door, burdened with thoughts. I paced myself and rushed through a courtyard of sorts, not making eye contact with anybody or examining anything. I stood by a large gate, which opened slightly, allowing me exit.

The area around me was barren, except for a few odd buildings. Lush green land stood in the distance, and I assumed that Seer's Village was beyond that. As I walked, I considered what had just happened. It was highly unusual and outside of my normal methods to actually go out of my way to, for the most part, instigate the fight (although he was at fault for being violent). It was also unusual for me to attempt blackmail. It felt wrong, but I wasn't honestly left with many options if I wanted Merlin free.

I considered the task at hand. It wouldn't be difficult to acquire what was needed to summon the ghost, but I supposed that the sword would be harder to get. The hardest part, though, would be controlling the ghost to lift the seal; I wasn't willing to cast any Zamorakian spells in order to do anything, so I'd have to fight it. I just hoped that she wasn't lying to me, because it would cause me great inconvenience if all she was trying to do was waste my time.

I noticed a large bat flying nearby, and I approached it menacingly. It squealed and tried to bite me, causing me little to no injury. With one massive swipe of Silverlight, I cut the wing of the bat and caused it much distress. After a brief struggle following that, I killed the bat and took its bones. I walked towards the green land and into some woods. I soon found my way again and walked on a path that led me to Seer's Village, although the walk took longer than I anticipated. I walked through Seer Village and Catherby towards the candle shop in Catherby.

I entered the shop, activating a small bell above the door which signified my entrance. The shop was rather dingy, lit by a small variety of candles. There was certainly no lack of candles in this place; hey lined and dotted the shelves, differing in colour and size. The shopkeeper spun around, grinning politely. He was a pudgy man, wearing a wax-smeared apron and with several ripples of meat on the back of his neck.

"Hello," I said, smiling. "I would like to buy a black candle from you, if that is okay." The man's eyebrows rose.

"You do know that they bring bad luck?" he questioned. "Oh well, business is business and I dunno if you're the superstitious sort or not. I have plenty, after some bumbling dock workers made a mistake and left a whole shipment here." He snorted, and I made a slight noise of amusement, knowing exactly what happened. He put his hand in some boxes and fished out a black candle. After reconsidering, I told him that I'd decided to buy two, just to be safe. He grunted in acknowledgement and fetched another. I paid for them, leaving swiftly.

I walked quickly up to the house of the dwarves, knocked, entered, and greeted Vestri, who sat in a chair, reading a book about mining. I entered the tunnel and walked through briskly, stopping on occasion to greet a dwarf that I knew. I appeared in Taverley, recalling the words of Morgan Le Faye. She said that this particular lake was south of Taverley, so I looked in that direction, trying to find something that would be of use to me. I followed that direction uncertainly, not particularly sure where to go. Eventually, I saw the glimmer of water in the distance, and I could tell that it was not from any ocean, so I followed it.

I walked by the lake, admiring its natural beauty. The late-winter sunshine glittered against the clean and pure surface of the lake. The greenery grew thick and fast around the lake, and the cool breeze moved the waters slowly and calmly. There was an almost unnatural feel to the beauty in comparison to the land surrounding the lake. I could have sworn that I heard singing; perhaps I was going mad. A small stretch of land led into an island of sorts in the middle of the lake; a large stone stood in the middle of this island. I walked towards it, and noticed the glint of the hilt of a sword. As I approached the stone, I saw that there was a sword lodged into the stone. A woman appeared nearby very suddenly, taking me aback.

She seemed to possess ghostly qualities, as she appeared to skim across the land as opposed to walking on it. She wore a long, white dress and she had long, white hair. Her eyes glowed with unnatural beauty to the point where it was difficult to look into them. Her beauty, so much like the land around her, struck a chord in my heart, a chord which resonated along the waters surrounding us. For once, I truly appreciated the land around me, yet I was regretful that I could not spend more time growing to understand it. Something about this lady unlocked a longing within me; a longing to see the world as I should; a longing to love the world as I should; a longing to be the world as I should. I knew not much of Camelot, yet I felt the pain of Arthur as it grew and almost passed him by in his understanding of it. I could feel the vibrations of my own emotions throb deep within me, and it seemed to shift the grass around me, almost as if the grass was feeling my deep pangs of love and longing for everything around me.

"I am the Lady of the Lake," the woman murmured, something my mind barely acknowledged in its trance. "I see that you seek the sword Excalibur. It was the sword of King Arthur in his absolute prime; his strength came partially from his ability to see the world as it was, to not be clouded by the worries of trivialities when the time was right. Do you see it? Have you a heart of peace, a mind of strength, yet clarity? Are you worthy of holding the sword? Try and remove it and see."

Still in a strange, dream-like state of seeing the ripples of my own emotions, I tugged at the sword. It did not budge. I began wondering why, but I let that not concern me and I felt more like focusing on what felt more important, that being the glowing waters, the waving grass and the beautiful woman in white. They could easily pass me by in the clanging and clashing of the world around me, and I could easily get swept with them.

The metal of the sword reminded me of the metal of the developing world. What if the buildings of wood and metal disturbed even this little pocket of peace and beauty? I daren't think of it. At that moment, I felt a strength and sadness in me that reminded me of the face of Arthur. Absentmindedly, I tugged again at the sword, and, in one moment of grieving for a lost world that wasn't even truly mine that made me feel likewise to the king I was helping, the sword came loose and fell into my hand. I blinked, and stared with disbelief at the sword in my hands. I had it! I thought getting it would be a massive task, but I had it!

I looked up, and everything was gone. The Lady of the Lake, the vibrations of my emotions, the magnificent glitter of the lake, even the stone itself was gone. All that existed was a lake not unlike any other lake I'd seen, and some grass which was just like any other grass one could come across. I looked at Excalibur, rather confused. As I looked at the unique and fascinating patterns, I thought. What had happened? It seemed that I'd been seen as worthy of having Excalibur, which was great, but odd. What had I done that had been so special? I tried grasping the understanding I had previously, but it slipped away like water. Baffled, I left, trying not to let it plague me. After all, I had the sword, and that was what counted, although I couldn't help but feel that, half a minute ago, I wouldn't have been able to disagree with myself more.

Still slightly confused, I thought back to the words of Morgan Le Faye. I had the bat bones, the candles, and now, by some miracle, Excalibur. Was that it? After some consideration, I decided that it was now time to find the star near Camelot in which I'd have to remove the seal using Thrantax the Mighty.

Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of Camelot, feeling determined. I would break the seal, free Merlin, and hopefully have some sort of lead on how to acquire the Holy Grail. In one hand I held my ghost-speak amulet, temporarily removed from my trophy hall, and in he other hand I held some fish for healing and a potion of strength. I'd decided to fight the ghost in order to break the seal instead of saying the incantation of Zamorak which, after some research, I discovered would upset my god, Saradomin. I wasn't entirely sure where the twelve-pointed star was, so I'd decided to find King Arthur to ask for its location and to give him an update of my progress. I entered the castle and found King Arthur rather quickly.

After an exchange of pleasantries, I told him about all that happened in Keep Le Faye and the candle shop, and the confusing events involving the Lady of the Lake. I showed him Excalibur, and he seemed impressed that I'd found it.

"That used to be my sword," he mused. "It is a powerful weapon that has seen a fair share of war and is marinaded in the blood of villains and tyrants. I'd suggest you use it to slay the ghost that my enemy speaks of, since it would probably be effective in conquering the ghost and breaking the seal; speaking of the ghost, the star that you need is to the right of the castle. Clearly you are not being misguided by my enemy if she is giving you directions that are clearly working. What confuses me, however, is her motivation. What could inspire her to help you? I'm sure, given her power, she could have saved her son from your empty threat. Why play along and help you? I suspect that she's merely playing a game with you, trying to challenge us. We have tabs on her, so her trickery will not work on us. However, it does make you wonder. Does she know what we're looking for? Anyway, don't worry about our affairs with the witch. Go and free Merlin. Good luck in your battle, sir. I'm sure you'll be fine, and you can flee regardless." I thanked King Arthur and left, considering his thoughts and hoping that Morgan Le Faye's motives weren't sinister.

I went to the right of the castle, turning Excalibur over in my hands. It was a peculiar and special sword; the events and the strange feeling that had now slipped from me at the lake proved that. I hoped that Thantax the Mighty wouldn't overpower me, or I'd never complete the quest. Perhaps this sword, whatever was so special about it, would be able to help me conquer my opponent. The only other option was reciting the Zamorakian chant, which I wasn't prepared to do. After all, I had aligned myself with Saradomin.

I found the twelve-pointed star carved into the ground not far from the castle, but out of the sight of the knights. I removed my bat bones and my candle, and, sweating profusely, I used my tinderbox to light the candle. Preparing myself mentally and physically, I burnt the bat bones slightly using the flame of the candle. An unexpected amount of acrid smoke burst from the bat bones, taking me aback. The cloud of smoke hovered in the air. A figure appeared in the smoke, letting off a ear-piercing shriek. The smoke cleared, leaving a tall, slightly-transparent figure floating in the air. I assumed that it was Thrantax the Mighty, although he was nowhere ear as intimidating as I'd expected. It wore what appeared to be iron chain-mail, although I doubted that it was actual chain-mail, thinking instead that it merely a part of his ghostly appearance.

"Ye who disturb my slumber," the ghost croaked. "Be prepared to utter the phrase to control my might or face its utter entirety."

I challenge you," I declared. "I will utter no such Zamorakian phrase, and I will control you forcefully instead." The ghost le off a screech and flew in my direction.

I held up the shield hanging from my belt to deflect the attack. I unsheathed Silverlight and began striking blows. Some missed, but some hit some solid part of the monster's form, draining some hit points and unearthly energy. It struck me repeatedly, some attacks proving ineffective and others piercing my defences and hurting me. I continued to deliver some well-executed blows, hurting the ghost more than I'd anticipated beforehand. However, as the battle wore on, the ghost seemed to somehow strengthen its blows, seeping away my power. It developed an upper hand until it was living up to its name and offering some mighty attacks. One of these attacks almost broke my wrist. I dropped Silverlight, but before I could recover it, Thrantax the Mighty picked me up with some ghostly appendage and began absorbing my energy using another unnatural limb which went through my armour and skin and into my body. I tried using some magic but I couldn't move an awful lot, let alone cast a spell.

It was then that I remembered Excalibur and the words of the king. With one dangling hand, I grabbed Excalibur and pulled it from my belt. The ghost seemed to shrink away from the sword, which, despite it not being the best or not even being as good as Silverlight, held an ancient glory which was very intimidating. With every ounce of my energy, I swung the sword towards the hideous creature, which was practically crippled by the blow and blasted backwards. I held the sword up, and the grass surrounding us began swaying rhythmically. The shining power of the sword contained echoes of the glory of kings and heroes, the fear of once-powerful tyrants, and the strength of cities. The star underneath us lit up, making the dark, wispy form of the ghost seem pathetic in comparison. Seeing my opponent as an embodiment of pollution and filth, I struck it down with Excalibur the glorious sword, feeling a surge of passion and strength flow through my veins, throbbing with a national pride that didn't even belong to me. I felt similar thrusts of emotion that I felt by the lake. It was incredible.

The ghost was reduced to a quivering, small, defeated wreck. "I am conquered," it gasped. "Ye who challenged me has defeated me. Thy seal is broken. Farewell, brave king." at that, Thrantax the Mighty curled away and vanished. At that moment, the grass stopped moving, the star stopped glowing, and my strength ebbed away. I considered what had happened. There seemed to be something ancient about the sword which stirred and reared a glorious head on occasion. I thought about asking King Arthur about it when I reported my success to him, but the sensation, which I was barely able to recollect at that moment, felt too personal to share.

I returned to King Arthur, telling him of my victory, asking him for directions to Merlin in the crystal ball and asking him if he wanted Excalibur back afterwards. "Merlin's crystal will be in his tower," answered King Arthur after some congratulations, gesturing to the stairs nearby. "Keep going up and you'll get there eventually. About the sword, it was by that lake for a reason, so that whoever was worthy of holding it would have it, seeing as it's no use to me." He grinned. "I guess that's you, eh?" Shrugging, I thanked the king and walked up the stairs, feeling a strong respect for him, stronger than before. I wasn't sure why, but something about that sword demonstrated his power, regardless of whether he still had it or not, and that was worthy of respect.

I followed the stairs upwards, not paying much attention to my surroundings and barely acknowledging the greetings of the passing knights, not out of rudeness but out of focus for my intent. I found myself following seemingly endless spiral steps upwards; I assumed that I was climbing a tower of sorts. When I appeared at the top, I walked through a door with 'Merlin' carved on the front and I found myself in a cluttered room surrounded by wardrobes and shelves filled with oddities and scrolls. The only light in the room came from a sole window overlooking the courtyard and Seer's Village beyond and a curious crystal ball sitting on a small table. This ball was filled with a strange, white mist, and occasionally I thought I could see a face in the mist, although I wondered if it was merely my imagination playing tricks on me. This, the sign, and the fact that it was the only crystal ball in the room, proved to me that this was the one that needed breaking. I grabbed Excalibur, braced myself, and smashed the ball with one mighty swing.

The mist poured from the ball and rose to the ceiling. From the mist walked a man. He appeared to be rather elderly; his skin was wrinkled, yet he didn't look frail. He had a long, white beard and he wore blue robes and a blue hat. His eyes twinkled with a strength that didn't manifest itself physically, but mentally. "I cannot thank you enough, adventurer," he sighed in a deep monotone. "It is immensely irritating, being stuck in that ball for so long. I must be able to repay you somehow. How can I be of service?"

"I am seeking the Holy Grail," I replied, shaking his hand. "I was told that you may be able to help me. So, wise Merlin, do you know anything of the Holy Grail?" Merlin made a noise of uncertainty, stroking his beard and looking out of the window thoughtfully.

"I know that it is in a different land, far away," he replied. He hesitated, before speaking again. "I remember the name now. It was called the Fisher Realm. The Grail was once on the island of Entrana, but was taken there. I remember this after an intense encounter with the knight Sir Galahad, who told me no more after that. I discovered the exact name of the location, though, through some meditation, remembering histories and researching. I'd go to Entrana in the hopes that they can tell you more about how to get to this Fisher Realm." I thanked the wizard for his time, who was perfectly happy to be free from his ball. I left, heavily imbued with thoughts.

The only logical thing I could do next was to visit Entrana to see what the next step was. I deposited all of my items in the bank, still burdened with thoughts. How would I find this artefact if the people of Entrana know nothing? What and where was this Fisher Realm? What was the explanation behind the power and the events surrounding Excalibur? I approached the dock with some money and asked for a boat to Entrana. They showed me to a boat, which I boarded. After some traditional shouts by the sailor advertising the fact that the boat was leaving, one other man boarded, and it set off.

The boat journey felt much shorter than it actually was, due to my thoughts preoccupying me. I wasn't really worrying myself, but the matter was still rather thought-consuming. I engaged in some small conversation with the other passenger, who seemed rather disinterested by his surroundings. We eventually arrived at Entrana. I made a beeline for the big church, hoping to speak to the High Priest. I saw him attending to some shelves; upon entering, he turned to me and grinned. His face unnerved me, not because of any fault of his own, but because it was that face which delivered a big prophecy that I'd had almost a year to chew over.

"Mainiac97!" he exclaimed. "How are you, my friend? Saradomin be with you!"

"Fine thanks," I replied cordially, returning his greetings. After some pleasantries, I shared with him my purpose of visiting and the events that had occurred already.

"Unfortunately, as you know, the Holy Grail is not here," the High Priest informed me. "However, I know that it is in the Fisher Realm, which is in terrible shape. You'll need two objects to enter the Fisher realm, those being an item from the Realm and a particular whistle. I have a whistle here that is of no use to me. I have two, actually; take them." He rummaged in his pockets and handed me two shiny whistles. "Stand by the sea, face north and blow the whistle with the object from the Fisher Realm in your possession," he told me. "Then you will be taken there. It has been made this difficult to get to for reasons of safety, seclusion and unfortunate politics which I won't go into. If it were anybody but you, friend, I wouldn't disclose the methods by which to get there. However, after some odd supernatural occurrences in which I learnt some secrets about which I cannot currently recall, I trust you."

His piece of news both pleasantly surprised me and unnerved me; as reassuring it was to know that such a holy man found me reliable, I was disturbed by the fact that he knew something about me which I didn't know. I left, thanking the High Priest for his information and whistles, but still feeling rather unsettled by his revelation which brought back old worries and questions about my past and such large, confusing, concerning mysteries.

After another boat trip filled with reflection and thought, I arrived back in Catherby and fetched my armour and weaponry again. I decided that I needed to visit Sir Galahad, the knight who'd been to the Fisher Realm before, since he was the most likely to have something from there. However, I didn't feel ready to encounter him or travel to any far-off lands at the moment. I needed to rest, and recuperate, and consider a plan of action. I needed to digest the events of the day. I needed to step back and assess the situation. Was the power of the sword really mine, or was it borrowed? Would I succeed in my quest? Only time would really be able to tell; I'd achieved quite a bit today, so I needed some time before stepping back into the ferocious adventure.

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><p><em>Hope you liked that. I tried to do something artistic with the ideas surrounding Excalibur, what with the battle with the ghost and the encounter at the lake and all, touching upon some Arthurian ideas. Do you think it worked, or did it look misplaced at all? If you have any thoughts, opinions, advice or suggestions, please reviewPM/Tweet them to me. I'd love to see your feedback. Honestly, it is ever so encouraging._

_Next chapter, there'll be an Easter special which continues with the Holy Grail quest and opens the door for a future plotline too._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	24. Chapter 24: Tea, Trolls and Kebbits

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Hope you all had pleasant Easters. This is my Easter special 2013, which hopefully makes up for the absence of last year's Easter special. I've had to be a bit more creative this year, seeing as there was no Easter event by Jagex. Since they returned to 2007's Easter special for their old 2007 servers, I've decided to take elements from Jagex's 2007 event, with the chocolate kebbits. This chapter is a bit more laidback, in which I get a couple of things done, not just Easter things. Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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><p><strong><em>C<span>hapter 24: Tea, Trolls and Kebbits<span>_**

Several weeks had passed since the events surrounding Merlin and the revelation on Entrana, and I'd been considering ways of recovering an artefact from the Fisher Realm from the apparently-delusional Sir Galahad. I'd been to visit his house twice in that time; the first time he refused to answer the door for me, and the second time he gave me several cups of tea and ushered me out before I'd had a chance to ask the question, claiming that he had work to do.

I'd spent a lot of time chatting with the knights about it, but the past weeks hadn't been a waste, because I'd been doing research in stores of books owned by the seers, the druids, and the knights themselves. I'd been doing research on King Arthur's past, and I'd discovered that he'd certainly had a very eventful past. He'd killed numerous monsters and tyrants with Excalibur, the curious sword in my possession which had proven unexpectedly powerful and had inspired very strange and unusual emotions within me. While I wasn't much closer to finding out why the sword was the way it was, some of the glory of Camelot had been shown to me and I'd seen the books describe the sword as one of glory, honour, pride and vision.

Easter had sprung upon us again unexpectedly. That was because it came around earlier this year than before, for reasons beyond my understanding. That meant that only three months had passed since Christmas. It was surprising, but not unpleasant. Easter was an enjoyable time of the year. Everybody was exchanging eggs, and Easter stalls had been set up in the market in Catherby, selling buns, seasonal meat and, of course, chocolate. Some parts of the area had been decorated brightly with images of spring, more particularly bunnies.

Just before the Easter weekend, I walked through Seer's Village and past the private woods, remembering, with faint amusement, my forced entry into its gates for the fishing quest. I found the small hut of Sir Galahad, which I knocked on the door of. An aged, pleasant-looking man in a comfortable robe answered, smiling and asking my business, clearly having forgotten me from before. After explaining that I was on a quest for King Arthur, he grinned, granting me entry.

His hut was basic but rather quaint within itself, with two tables, three chairs, a kitchen unit in one corner, a comfortable-looking bed in the other, and a large set of shelves filled with trophies, books and sheets of parchment occupying an entire wall. A lit fireplace letting off a soothing crackling noise occupied the wall opposite to the door.

"Let me get you a cup of tea," he commented, setting a kettle to boil and gathering some utensils before I could argue. "So what has the good king given you now, adventurer?" he asked, sitting down. He seemed rather sane to me, apart from his slightly-rolling eyes and his massive forgetfulness, although I knew that appearances could be deceiving from past experiences.

"I've been sent to find a rare and powerful artefact," I said slowly, wording my sentences carefully. "I was told that you had something that could help me. Do you?" He raised his eyebrows curiously.

"What sort of something?" he pressed. "Oh, the kettle has boiled."

"An artefact from some other place," I continued as he attended to the drinks. "A place that is hard to get to. Would you know of such a place?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, handing me my tea. "What would the name be? What is the artefact? You're not being very concise."

"The name has something to do with using a rod," I answered, spacing out my syllables. I could tell he was growing suspicious and I was reluctant to name the place or the artefact.

"What type of answer is that?" he almost snapped. "Do you know anything?" We argued a bit further before I decided to tell him.

"It's called the Fisher Realm, I believe," I told him, conceding defeat. Upon hearing the name, he seemed to convulse and began speaking loudly. His tea fell to the floor and broke. I picked up the pieces hurriedly and wiped the dregs of his tea with the cloth on the table.

"What a nasty place," he told me at breakneck pace. "It's so smelly, so dirty. And the black metal monster, I cannot, I cannot. When both demotivated and insufficient, I cannot." He blabbered on about kings and crops and mud and priests. I could now see why retrieving information from him was so awkward; when remembering the events, he seemed visibly affected. How awful was this place?

"Please give me the object needed to go there," I pleaded. He made a yell of denial and began shaking further.

After a minute of wrestling verbally with him, he stopped shaking and sat up as normal. "Oh, my tea's gone again," he commented casually, as if nothing had happened. "I'd better make some more. You've finished yours, too. I'll brew you some more. What were you saying?" Feeling frustrated and defeated, I told him I had to go and not to worry about the tea, and I left swiftly.

I walked back through Seer's Village, wracking my brain for a solution. How could I possibly get anything form him? It was like trying to get blood from a stone. In all honesty, making a stone bleed sounded like a good task at that moment. It didn't help that I was still concerned by the situation surrounding Aaron and the threat of the vampires. He wasn't any happier, and that didn't make me any happier.

As I walked through Catherby, I decided I'd leave it and I'd visit Pikkupstix in Taverley to extend some Easter wishes, give some eggs for him and the others there, and have a conversation with him. I took the underground path, greeting dwarves and sometimes stopping to give them an egg as I passed them. I appeared in Taverley, making a beeline for the house of Pikkupstix. I tapped on the door, and he opened it, grinning upon seeing me and inviting me in.

"Hello, friend," he smiled. "It is nice to see you. I wish you a happy Easter. Would you like some herbal tea? Or would you rather some of my own flavoured water? I made some orange-flavoured pots of water this morning."

"Same to you," I replied. "No tea for me, thank you. I've had enough tea already; although that orange water does sound very compelling at the moment."

He prepared the drinks, gathered some snacks he'd made from breadcrumbs, and returned. We exchanged eggs and pleasantries, and he told me some anecdotes of his involving his summoning shop and his hobby involving herbs. I took an interest in this, and he told me that there was an art which was an extension of potion-making called herblore. He didn't go into the intricacies of it because of its complexity, telling me that there were ways of enhancing magical potions. I described to him my own struggles surrounding my quest to find the Holy Grail, briefly describing to him the events surrounding the freeing of Merlin and giving him a watered-down version of what I learnt about the Fisher Realm and my struggles involving Sir Galahad.

"This sword you describe sounds fascinating," he commented. "May I see it?" I handed it to him gently, and he examined it. "It doesn't look very different to any other sword," he confessed. "While it's easy to tell that it's a noble sword that's seen many battles, I don't see that much to it. It's been a big help to you in your quest, it seems; perhaps it could also be helpful in convincing this old man you describe to part with the item you desire."

I considered his words, thinking that he was suggesting brute force. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, and then he laughed. "I don't mean use the sword against him," he chuckled. "I mean use the powers you describe relating to the sword to convince him by demonstrating said powers in other ways. It seems this sword is destined to help you on your quest; maybe it is supposed to be used to find this Holy Grail." He handed Excalibur back to me and I thanked him for his advice. We chatted for a little while longer. He mentioned that Commander Denulth of the Burthorpe Imperial Guard was encountering some difficulties and could do with some help. I decided to spend some time looking to see if I could help, thinking of the troll threat, remembering the events of Christmas and the events before that. I made my leave, thanking him again for his thoughts.

As I walked to Burthopre, I considered what Pikkupstix had said. He'd told me that perhaps Excalibur would be useful in this instance, like it had been before. Perhaps he was right. The question was, how could I possibly implement the sword in a way that would help me get some sense from Sir Galahad and retrieve the Fisher Realm item I needed? It was some food for thought indeed, and I was already forming a plan of action.

Walking through Burthorpe, I examined the wreckage surrounding me sadly. The war had paid a terrible price on the town, with injured soldiers and homeless people everywhere. Any traces of its past dignity were gone, leaving a pile of broken homes and broken hopes behind. I was glad to see that some of the homes that had been set up Christmastime for the stray pets were still standing, although not all of them remained, perhaps as a result of the continuing struggle with the trolls. I was glad that Our Little Helper, my adopted dog, no longer lived in these surroundings.

I asked some of the passing people for directions to Commander Denulth, and they directed me to a rather small hut very close to the furthest northern parts of Burthorpe. Beyond the collection of makeshift military-looking huts, houses and fields, along with the very shaken-looking castle, the only thing that separated Burthorpe from the wastelands (and, beyond that, the trolls) were several stone walls that looked impossible to scale and several steep dirt banks.

I approached the door of the hut and knocked, several nearby guards eyeing me suspiciously. A sharp, curt yell gave me permission to enter. I entered and was faced with a surprisingly-tidy and organised office, considering the constant threat Burthorpe faced. I looked at the rack of swords nearby, with a map on a table next to it. Sitting by a neatly-aligned desk was a bald man with grey facial hair. He wore black-and-blue chainmail with steel sleeves and steel trousers. Steel claws on his forearms proved menacing, but what was even more menacing was the tartness of his face, which could sour ripe grapes. He looked so annoyed and miserable; it made me reluctant to even speak with him. I assumed that this was Commander Denulth.

"Hello, young one," he barked. He eyed my armour with faint distaste, although I had no idea why. "Can I help you?"

"I was hoping that I could help you, sir," I squeaked. "Perhaps my service could be of assistance."

"What is your name, young one?" he said with such velocity it made me jump. "What makes you think you can handle the threat facing Burthorpe?"

"I am Mainiac97, sir," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. "I have killed a few monsters in my time, sir."

"I recognise your name, boy," he said, a bit quieter this time. "I apologise for being so rude. We've been having a difficult time this past week on Death Plateau just north of here. Several trolls have breached the defences again, and it's causing no end of distress. The trolls are really pushing us, and I don't know for how long we can stay strong. Maybe you can help me, despite the armour you're wearing."

I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong with my armour, but he spoke again. "We've been excavating underground to try and find some of the tunnels dug by the trolls and to collapse them. We could even try and use these tunnels, or dig one of our own, to get that much closer to the troll stronghold. In the past day, we hit one of their tunnels, which happened to be full of trolls. We succeeded in collapsing the tunnel on their side and killing most of the trolls, but some remain and most of our army is occupied securing Burthorpe or working on the Death Plateau situation, since we need to take care of that before they start sending in heavy forces. The remaining five or so trolls in the tunnel need to be dealt with, so your help would be appreciated in taking care of them, assuming you're capable." After giving me directions to the tunnel in question, he bade me good luck and continued working on whatever he was doing before.

I left, feeling anxious but confident that I could at least help. I followed the commander's directions. I appeared by the mouth of a relatively-small tunnel. One exhausted-looking guard stood by it. I tried walking past, and he tried stopping me, but gave up and told me that I was signing my own death warrant. I entered the dirty-looking tunnel and walked downwards for about two minutes before appearing in a cramped cave of sorts.

The cave was too small, so most of it was occupied by three very aggravated trolls, two troll carcasses, two human carcasses, one severely-injured solider and two weakened and terrified soldiers defending themselves from the trolls (and barely succeeding). I managed to enter unnoticed. One troll was significantly stronger than the other two; it was about ten or so levels above me, so I could probably handle it, but not with the other two also attacking me. I unsheathed Silverlight and, with a quick blow, severely hurt one of the weaker ones. It let off a hideous bellow and spun around to face me, attracting attention from the others in the cave.

"Puny human will suffer for puny strike!" it roared, spraying me with disgusting spit. The hulking form of the green monstrosity swung towards me with its club. I managed to strike and push back the club, albeit with a struggle. The deafening blow of another troll's club struck me in the side, winding me and knocking me over. The three of them bore down on me, their disgusting faces seemingly alight. I barely managed to hold my own; one of them was manageable, but three of them proved very difficult. A war situation or a mass battle situation was different, since there were other foes concerning the opposition; here, the three of them were focused on pummelling me.

The soldiers recovered their wits and assisted me by stabbing one of the weaker trolls with their own weapons. This distracted the relevant troll, giving me an opportunity to prepare myself and cut off the troll's club hand with the dragon sword. The troll keeled over, shrieking with obvious pain. I jumped onto its back and prepared to strike its neck, but the other two trolls grabbed me and held me back. I succeeded in injuring the bigger one, before receiving several painful blows myself.

I remembered Excalibur and retrieved it with minor difficulty. I struck the troll several times with it; while it did sustain damage, I noted that the sword didn't make the surroundings become alight with passion and didn't inspire awesome emotions within me, like it did before. As a matter of fact, Silverlight proved better. This confused me; what made this battle any different to my encounter with Thrantax the Mighty?

The two soldiers, despite their obvious suffering, managed to pin one of the weaker trolls against a wall. I took the opportunity to plunge Silverlight into its gut, making it bleed profusely. Too weak to hold a defence, it cowered and I slew the foul monster with ease. This inspired anger in the other trolls, and they grabbed one of the soldiers, clubs forgotten, and literally ripped him apart. It was an awful sight, and, despite seeing similar, if not worse, things in the past, I retched. The trolls stamped around, working themselves up and killing the already-injured solider that had been staying away from the cramped action.

As we entered the battle again, a hole appeared in the ground, and two white ears, followed by a small, fluffy face popped through. I recognised the face as belonging to the Easter Bunny, and I remembered the time of year with a pang. "Mainiac97?" the Easter Bunny asked uncertainly. He looked visibly shocked by his surroundings.

"Go!" I yelled, dodging a swinging attack by one of the trolls. "You'll get hurt!" Before the poor rabbit could answer, one of the trolls grabbed him by the ears and started swinging him around. The remaining solider, visibly torn and disturbed by the murder of his companions, looked on the verge of fainting, something which the other troll took advantage of.

The Easter Bunny pulled out a massive clay carrot, something which I remembered with fondness, seeing as I'd been rewarded with one myself in a past Easter. The Easter Bunny swerved around and struck the troll in the face with the hammer. While the blow wasn't particularly strong against a hulk of flesh, muscle and ugly rage like the troll, it was unexpected and it certainly make the troll drop the bunny and stumble back with surprise. This gave me a window of opportunity to dive back into the battle and deliver some further blows.

The Easter Bunny went to hide for the duration of the battle. After some more dodging, taking, and delivering blows, we succeeded in weakening the trolls to the point where we could successfully kill them. We stepped back, looking with satisfaction at the troll carcasses. After a moment of recovery and contemplation, the soldier sat down and burst into tears. It was very understandable, considering that he was probably hurt and scarred, physically, mentally and emotionally, following the experience and the loss of his comrades. I tried to soothe him and reassure him as much as I could. The Easter Bunny came out from his hiding place, looking very out-of-place and understandably shocked and concerned.

"I'm sorry that I came at such a bad time," he apologised. I waved away his apology, understanding how he could have no idea as to what was happening. I explained the situation to him briefly, greeting him with as much enthusiasm as I could muster after such an encounter. "Maybe I could collapse this cave for you," he suggested. "It would be of some help. Maybe you could report back to whoever needs to know about this in the meantime. I was hoping that you could assist me with a problem that's not as major as some of the problems you've helped me with before, but still remains a problem. However, maybe you won't be able to help me after this."

"No," I argued. "I'll be happy to help you."

"Okay," the Easter Bunny answered. "Perhaps you can return to the outside of this cave after you've finished reporting and I can take you to my factory then."

I took the sobbing solider back to Commander Denulth's office, and we reported to him that the tunnel was clear of trolls and that it was being caved in at that moment. "Thank you," the commander said. "I have no reward at hand to offer you, but if you returned, you could accept a reward. I'd also be happy to accept you for Imperial Guard training if you like, despite your apparent unfortunate existing ties." He gave my armour another dirty glance, confusing me. "We could do with your help here, young man." He waved me off, thanking me again and excusing me so he could speak with the shaken soldier.

When I returned to the cave, I saw that it hadn't quite yet been sealed, and the bodies of the soldiers and the trolls had been laid outside. "Those trolls aren't easy to drag," the Easter Bunny grunted. "It's taken me this long to deal with those big bodies. Give me a minute to finish caving this thing in." he dived back into the ground, and after a while, a thundering roar could be heard as the cave collapsed within itself.

The little bunny clicked his fingers, making me feel very strange. It felt oddly familiar, and I remembered with a jolt that the Easter Bunny was temporarily turning me into a bunny so I could crawl through his hole, like he'd done before. I began to shrink, and tufts of fur grew all over my body. After the process, I was a small bunny.

"This is more fun than simply dragging you through bigger tunnels," he grinned. While I appreciated his intentions, it didn't feel very appropriate, considering what had just transpired. He dug downwards and gestured for me to follow him. We hopped down several tunnels, finally arriving at a large and muddy room. I felt my hair shrinking into my skin, my body changing back to normal.

I examined my surroundings. This wasn't his familiar factory room; instead, we were on a balcony of sorts, overlooking a large mechanical contraption which took up about half of the room, considering that it was a fairly large room that we were in. On one side, a moving belt stood, going into an opening in the machine that was big enough for a relatively small man to walk into comfortably. The belt, assumedly, went through the whole machine and appeared out the other side. Whatever was on the conveyor belt would then roll onto another belt, where it would be checked and sorted by a row of familiar imp and squirrel workers.

The interesting thing, though, about this machine was the things coming out of it. Weird, small creatures with two legs, no arms, an arched back with protruding spikes, sharp teeth, and, even worse, made entirely out of chocolate came out of the machine, jumping everywhere and trying to bite the workers. Adventurers scattered the floor surrounding the machine, killing these things with ease and gathering the chocolate.

"Let me clarify," the Easter Bunny explained. "Over the past year or so, I've been working with magicians to build this machine, which is a fabulous machine. Once it's running, you put something onto that belt and it goes into the machine. Certain contraptions and spells would work out the shape of the object and, with some assistance from the object itself, would recreate the object out of chocolate and mass-produce the chocolate creation. I planned on using the machine to create chocolate bunnies. It would prevent the old work of manually making chocolate objects by hand.

"I decided, earlier today, to organize a professional test. However, I wasn't able to be here for the test, so I put it into the hands of my imps. I asked for a rabbit to be put through the machine, and, due to a miscommunication, a kebbit, which is a wild animal, was put through instead, resulting in all of these chocolate kebbits. Since I wasn't here, the area wasn't controlled properly, since the imps weren't expecting something like this to happen. Problems with the machine meant that it is still producing these blasted chocolate kebbits, and that the kebbits won't stop jumping around and trying to bite people, as they do in the wild. They're annoying and ugly things, and they'll wriggle, so I can't really sell them. So, I've asked adventurers to catch the kebbits, kill them, gather the chocolate, and put the chocolate in one of the big baskets that have been dotted around the area."

"So, you want me to do the same?" I asked. The rabbit shook his head.

"I want you to go into the machine itself and do me a favor," the rabbit said. "You see, the buttons and levers to control it are all inside. Go past the moving belt and follow the path to a panel. On that, there should be a red button with 'stop' written on it. Pressing it will stop everything. Could you do that?" I nodded in affirmative, failing to see the difficult surrounding that. "The reason we haven't done that yet is because another of problem, that being the big, moving chocolate monstrosity in the way, which won't let anybody pass. I think its existence there is a result of another issue with the machine. That's without mentioning the sheer amount of chocolate kebbits running riot in there. Three have been in there before you; one was overpowered by the hundreds of kebbits stuck in there and had to flee, one was overpowered by the chocolate thing itself and barely escaped, and the other fell into the big pot of melted chocolate used and almost drowned. Then I remembered you and everything you've done, and I think you could manage it easily." I thanked the Easter Bunny for his explaining, walked down the stairs, and approached the machine.

I walked on the belt for a second and jumped off onto a path when inside. Lots of moving cogs, twisting pipes and stray metal objects surrounded me, giving me very little room for movement. I was reluctant to break anything. I continued onwards in a different direction to the belt, failing to see any chocolate kebbits. I saw one scamper nearby, and I split it in half. I ate the chocolate in order to help myself heal after the earlier ordeal. I was almost amused; less than half an hour ago, I was waging battle with ferocious trolls, and now I was on my way to fight an apparent chocolate monstrosity. It was ironic in its own way, and the two situations of differing importance didn't seem right when put next to each other.

I turned a corner, almost hitting my head against a jutting metal bar. What I saw ahead of me made me release that I was possibly slightly underestimating this task. What seemed like thousands of chocolate critters, all piled up on top of each other, stood in front of me. They all turned to me and ran in my direction simultaneously, creating a fearsome noise against the metal floor with their chocolate claws. They bowled me over with their sheer number, taking me aback and causing me to stumble. I felt like I was being crushed by chocolate objects. I used Silverlight to break through them, many at a time. I cast many fire spells to melt surrounding kebbits, showering me with specks of chocolate.

I passed through them, struggling to move because of the many chocolate kebbits. I eventually broke through them, finding space to breathe and move. I sprinted, not being crushed by kebbits but still surrounded by them. I turned several corners and climbed some stairs until I found what must have been the panel described by the Easter Bunny. There were less kebbits here. There was no sign of any chocolate monstrosities; I felt misled and confused. I realized that I was on another balcony overlooking a massive metal pot filled with bubbling, boiling chocolate. I observed it, casually killing kebbits that approached me. Pipes and mechanical things picked up the chocolate and carried it across to several belts running nearby. There was no gate to stop me from falling into the pot, making me realize how easy it was to truly drown in the chocolate. While it sounded like a more pleasant way to die as opposed to death by ugly troll, it was still to be avoided. I was distracted by a deep grumbling noise from behind me. I spun around, and saw the opponent that I was supposed to be looking out for.

A towering wall of pure chocolate with no observable face approached me. It grew limbs at random, limbs which would occasionally break nearby metal objects. It melted into itself constantly, creating a pulsating effect. A particular limb grew fingers and grabbed me, holding me upwards. It approached the edge of the balcony, and I saw that it was going to push me into the hot chocolate. Reacting quickly, I broke off the limb, making the weird, animated chocolate blob let off what sounded like a loud gurgle of pain.

I pushed it and ran around it to avoid being pushed into the molten chocolate. I stabbed and struck it repeatedly with both Silverlight and my dragon sword to no avail. It either regrew whatever I'd cut or it bubbled and expanded. I decided to use Excalibur again, like I did with the trolls, and, similarly, it had no special effect, confusing me further. I decided to try casting spells. Water and air spells broke it, but, again, it repaired itself. It seemed intent on not injuring me, but ushering me to the pot of hot chocolate. I was determined not to, so every time it tried picking me up, I'd cut off the limb picking me up. I, meanwhile, also had to contend with the kebbits jumping to me. I was physically being attacked by chocolate, something which sounded ludicrous when said aloud.

I tried a fire spell, and it proved more effective. A large section of the creature melted away, and it stumbled backwards slightly. I saw an opportunity, so I repeated the spell, causing it to weaken, shrink and move backwards. With an almighty strike from Silverlight, I pushed the weird thing into the pot of chocolate, causing it to let off a deep noise, melt completely and become one with the chocolate surrounding it.

Now undistracted, I examined the panel, found the button, and pressed it. All of the mechanics surrounding me seemed to let off a sigh, falter, then stop completely. I heard some yells of victory from outside, and, cheering, I left the machine, running through the corridors and happily fighting against the kebbits that went in my way. I ran outside, and met the Easter Bunny, who seemed both relived and delighted.

"You did it," he grinned. "Now all that has to be done is to clear out all of these annoying kebbits. I guess me and the wizards will have to re-assess this machine before we using it again." He chortled to himself. "I guess that's an understatement. Now, I think a reward is due. Take these hats." He handed me two hats; one looked like a broken eggshell with some egg still dripping from it and the other looked like a half-wrapped and broken chocolate egg. They were both made from metal. "These are some rare, state-of-the-art hats which I don't have many of," he informed me. "I hope you like them. They make fine Easter wear for a great and funny atmosphere, and now you have a great story to accompany them. Here, take this also." He handed me what looked like a hand-cannon to be held in one hand, except it was decorative. Half of it looked like a purple Easter egg, and a bird made from gold was perched on the end. "This is what I call the Eggsterminator," he told me. "I am mass-selling them over the next week." He opened up half of the egg. "Fill this with melted chocolate, and you can use it to blast chocolate at others," he chuckled. "The chocolate you fire is still partially melted in the middle, so it causes no real harm. I hope you enjoy. I'll give you something else if you stay behind and help with the kebbits. Remember to put their remains in the baskets to be re-used."

I stayed behind for another hour or so, enjoying the time destroying kebbits. At the end of it, the Easter Bunny gave me a lovely experience lamp and took me back to Seer's Village. As I returned home, I felt both elated and miserable. The light-hearted events in the Easter Bunny's factory and my amusing rewards went against the rest of the day. The events in Burthorpe surrounding the trolls, the stress of Commander Denulth and the crying of the soldier were very sobering and truly made me realize the massive seriousness of what was occurring. I conceded that I'd return and help as soon as I was finished with helping King Arthur, assuming that my ideas as a result of my chat with Pikkupstix would work and I could get what I needed from Sir Galahad. Otherwise, perhaps I'd return to Burthorpe sooner than I anticipated. I looked forward to my Easter, but I knew that Burthorpe's Easter would be more stressful than I could ever imagine and I felt so sorry.

* * *

><p><em>That concludes my Easter special 2013. Just a warning; this will be one of the last holiday specials. I'll elaborate another time, later on. What do you think of the developments? I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions and suggestions. Don't forget, you can see regular updates on my Twitter account, Mainiac97.<em>

_Next chapter, Mainiac97 continues to pursue the Holy Grail._

_Until next time, toodles!_


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